Red vs Blue Season 19
by Monty Mason
Summary: With the bells of war ringing, the reds and the blues must now find a way to help Carolina and combat the threat of a terrorist army. In doing so, they go on to raise an army of unlikely heroes in this tale of unity and sacrifices. Final entry in the 'Cradle of Hope' trilogy. - Not an adaption of the official season. Rated M for Mature. -
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Red vs. Blue IP nor any of the characters from the official show used here. Rooster Teeth and any other investing parties are the rightful owner to that. I however do own the story as well as any original characters in here.**

 **For when Rooster Teeth releases the official Season 19, this fanfiction is not meant to be related to that in any shape or form. This is simply a sequel to my "Red vs Blue Season 18" fanfiction and the final entry to the "Cradle of Peace" trilogy.**

 **Rated M for Mature as it contains language, and other mature content.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

* * *

On a cloudy morning, the streets were packed with the morning rush hour. Everyone hurried to get to work as fast as possible, and not a care in the world to stop and enjoy the fresh air around them. Society has raised its _livestock_ well. A long line of workers went in and out from a transportation factory. Many checked in for their day shift, and few checked out from their night shift. Every worker carried a work bag, but one carried two abnormally large ones than the others. It was a curious and a suspicious sight. But the worker was known to have good standing with the company. There was no justified cause for concern in the eyes of the security. They allowed him through.

The worker greeted his co-workers and boss along the way with a cheery disposition, hoping to help brighten the days of others and in effect receive the satisfaction of being a positive impact. He stopped by the back of the factory and stored one bag behind lose metal plating. He walked some distance to the drop-off zone and talked his way into the loading and drop-off bay. "How are the kids Jim?"

"Same old, same old," one of the other workers replied with the shake of their head. The worker patted his co-worker on the back. "Hang in there, things will eventually improve. After all, everything has to change someday."

Jim gave a weak but agreeable look. "If only things went according to how you wanted them to in life."

"It won't be much of a surprise then would it?" the worker argued with a wide smirk. "Plus, those surprises are all a part of the fun."

"Says the guy who has yet to actually father some children," Jim stated crossing his arms. "Tell you what, raise some kids and then come back to me and say these things."

"Hey what can I say?" The worker shook his shoulder. "I just go with the flow."

"Then go with the flow and start helping instead of lugging that big bag around. Haven't you heard? They are prepping that special nuclear material for cargo transport today. We need all the hands to help that we can get."

"Hey, I'm assigned to the manufacturing department of the factory today," the worker answered stretching out his arms. "Sorry, but I can't help you today chief."

"And yet you are here because?"

"I thought to pay a visit to my bud," the worker joked tapping Jim's back. His friend finally smiled and nodded his head. "I see, well nice to see you to. But I have to get back to work now, else the boss will really chew me out this time."

"Right," the worker waved Jim away as he went to a secluded area and stored the bag out of sight, and out of mind. _The rest is up to you guys. Here is hoping to your success_.

* * *

On the road was a white van filled with individuals dressed neatly in delivery worker clothes. The man beside the driver turned to look at the crew in the back. "Everyone know the plan?"

"No need to worry boss, we got this one in the bag."

He turned to look at a quiet woman in the back right corner. "How about you, are you sure you will be okay?"

"I appreciate the concern, but you don't need to worry about me," she shot back in a matter-of-fact tone. She was not about to be babied by someone else, it never suited her. She tied back her black hair preparing herself for the operation. "I have done seven of these runs successfully already."

"I know it's just that yo-"

"I. Will. Be. Fine," she again answered finally silencing all those around her. He with defeat nodded his head and noticed the upcoming checkpoint. The van slowly pulled to a stop and a security guard walked up to the driver's side. As the driver retracted the window downwards, the guard looked at the scheduled vehicles. "You guys here for a drop-off?"

"That we are," the driver answered. The guard checked the inside of the van very briefly before granting them entry. Those in the back had made sure to act quickly in hiding their presence behind several dummy boxes. The van slowly pulled up to the garage door leading to the drop-off zone. The co-driver knocked the back of the van. "Get ready."

As soon as the van parked inside, the co-driver, their leader for the operation went to negotiate with the factory workers. This gave them time to exit the back and each carried a box for drop-off. One by one to avoid suspicion, they took any opportunity they could to access the secluded area where the bag was stored. One of them zipped it open and saw heaps of body armor and masks. They distributed the gear amongst themselves and took out lightweight weaponry. The leader looked at their tech expert and said. "The gear you need should be behind the factory, one person will go with you as planned."

The tech expert and an escort departed from the group rushing to the back of the factory building while avoiding the cameras and workers. The other group sat tight waiting for the tech expert to complete his task. Retrieving the second bag, he activated an add-on for his gear that allowed him to remotely hack any device as long as he placed a small access point on it. He went through the facility disabling various cameras and finally reached his destination. It was the master control for the various fire alarms and other security systems. "You are all good to go."

* * *

"Roger that," the leader confirmed motioning for the rest to move out. "Head for hanger bay D14. That's where they will be loading the nuclear material!"

Rushing through the halls with their weapons raised, they alerted every worker along the way into hysteria mode. They recited one line over and over again to do whatever they could for crowd control. "No one do anything stupid and you can all go home safe and sound tonight!"

The security guards pushed every button on their panel in the control room but to no success were the cameras able to come back online. The guards finally heard the panicked populace and decided to investigate. To their surprise came the invaders. They quickly drew their pistols and ordered for the invaders to stand down and surrender. The two sides opened fire waging war. But only the invaders came on top thanks to their superior training.

They all rushed to hanger D14 where their target stood in sight. Several security guards blocked their way with pistols raised. The leader looked to his comrades from left to right. "Remember, not one bullet should hit the pelican, we want to be able to fly the baby out of here in one piece."

The female warrior from the van scanned the inside of the pelican with her dark brown eyes. There was a large rectangular like metal box inside. _There you are_. She readied her gun and opened fire. The others followed suite and in this dance of bullets, blood splattered like spilled coffee on both sides. While the invaders had the superior training, the guards now had the numbers. But numbers dwindled and the tides of conflict continued to change. However, slowly the invaders managed to work their way up towards the ship, but with every step of advancement it seemed like they lost another valuable comrade.

The female warrior rushed inside the plane and quickly slashed the throats of those who stood in her way. As they struggled to keep their blood inside, she eyed them and shook her head. "You chose this. You people chose to protect when you could have run away with your lives in tact."

She bent down beside the box to study its status on a small interactive panel and radioed in. "Good, we have the package."

"You hear that guys?" One of the invaders exclaimed hoping to encourage his comrades and discourage the enemy from continuing the conflict. But before he could breath out another word, a sniper round went crushing the one side of his skull, splattering his brain and breaking out from the other side. He fell to the ground like a rag doll. The others traced the shot back to its origination and opened fire. The enemy sniper was down. The leader looked around in a panic at his numbers. They went down from a group of eight to three. "Shit, where is that backup?"

Another one was down and only two remained now. The female warrior hid behind the metal box knowing that they won't dare strike it. She stuck her head out and aimed the weapon, with extreme precision she gunned down her enemy. Only one soldier remained as the rest quickly began to retreat. From the front gates entered a hunch backed frail framed man who looked at the panicked populace around him. All of them pushed past one another to leave the factory grounds. The man smirked in joy. This panic, this discord was exactly the type of chaos he imagined. He brushed his dark grey shoulder length hair behind him and stared at the small open pathway with his black eyes. Behind him were several other soldiers all wearing the same gear as the invaders, slowly they all pushed through the crowd.

* * *

In the hanger, their backup finally arrived to find everyone dead. There was only one person who remained alive, the female warrior. She stood up to remove her mask and threw it to the side. "That could have gone far better."

"Aria," the hunch backed man noted in a very cold and emotionless tone as he looked at the bodies around them. She bent down by the leader and slowly closed his eyes. She held his hand thanking him and her other comrades for their sacrifice. "You could show a little more emotion Adrian. Especially show some sympathy for the sacrifice of our brave soldiers."

Adrian stared at his other comrades who let their heads fall low in respect and prayed for their safe journey to whatever lay in the afterlife if anything. He scoffed at her suggestion. "It seems there is already enough sympathy to go around as it is. No need to add anymore than necessary. I prefer to get things done rather than sit around and mourn."

Aria glared at him quickly shutting him down. She stood up and noticed one body squirming, as she neared she took note of the security guard uniform. He groaned in pain and turned to look at her. "You fucking thieves, you think you can get away with this?"

"We already have," Adrian walked close and stared him down. Aria bent down beside the dying guard and waved her pistol around. "There is nothing that can stop us. If a whole factory of armed guards could not stand in our way, what makes you think something else will?"

"The law won't forgive…"

"The law can eat shit and go to hell," Aria answered with anger in her voice. "If the law was actually serious, we would have been downed a long time ago. They are nothing but an organization of corruption and lazy slobs."

Adrian looked at his other comrades creating a safe perimeter around the pelican. "We need to go."

Aria stood up and aimed her pistol. He held up his hands to beg for his life, claiming he has a family. That he does not wish to die. But such cries affect her not. With the pull of the trigger, she put an end to his existence. Aria ordered for one of the soldier to get rid of the bodies from the pelican as she went to the pilot seat. Adrian followed after. "You do know how to fly this right?"

"Sure," she answered with some hesitance. "I mean, Creed taught me, at least in the simulator."

"That was years ago."

"I'm sure it will come back to me, it's like riding a bicycle right?" she smirked. "Strap in tight."

"Oh dear," Adrian whispered as he swung down seat restraint. The others got on board and Aria started up the launch procedure. She stretched her neck to the side and looked through the glass windows. "Here we go."

The pelican slowly took off and hovered forward. Out of the building's reach, the plane started to rise up into the air and propelled forward. As the plane was stabilized, Aria hit a few buttons to put it on auto-pilot for the time being. She looked back in the seating area where the metal box resided and with a satisfied grin, she turned back to the skies. They made a clean get away.

* * *

 **A/N: Welcome back old readers and welcome new readers! :)**

 **So we are off to a start with a bang for the final entry now aren't we?**

 **I hope you are looking forward to this one as it will take the things set up in Seasons 17 and 18 and resolve them while introducing some new things along the way. Updates for this story will happen whenever a chapter is written, edited and finished. I don't have a set schedule and I may take an announced break out of the blue as well at times just to ensure the passion for the story stays alive.**

 **You may also see recommendations for music to help set the atmosphere when you read. This just means that I listened to that piece of music quite a lot while writing certain scenes or sequences. Some of them can be found on YouTube, while others may be found on sites like "Free Music Archive", location will always be specified. Having said that, we will have our first one here called "Crashing This Plane" by Hans Zimmer from The Dark Knight Rises. It can be found on YouTube. Start the song from when the van of delivery "workers" is introduced. The idea here is to have you pace out the scenes of the writing out accordingly and make it a cinematic experience as you imagine the scenes play out like a movie or machinima with the background music in effect.  
**

 **As a means of feedback, I will also tend to ask questions at the end even if very general. So, what did you think about the prologue?**

 **Was it something that gets you interested and curious to see where the story goes from this beginning?**

 **Constructive criticism is always welcomed!**

 **Looking forward to having you stick around! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	2. Investigation Aria

**Red vs. Blue Season 19**

 **Chapter 1: Investigation Aria**

Under the cover of the deadly cold night, a sniper eyed a small compound opposite to the rooftop she was on. She adjusted the thermal blanket atop her that acted to trap the heat but also camouflage on the thick surface of the snow. She blew a strand of her light blonde hair to the side, and with annoyance she noticed her breath fog up the scope on her rifle. After wiping it, her yellow eyes studied every little inch of the scope to make sure it was clean. With a satisfied job, she turned her attention back to the base. "I don't know what you two plan on doing exactly, but you best do it fast. The leader of this compound will be leaving in approximately twenty minutes."

"Don't worry Chloe," said the young assassin Ken as he hid in a bush. "We will be going home by that time."

"Count on it," Carolina joked as she shadowed two guards. When they stopped their patrol, she quietly approached them and smashed their heads together. They were out cold. Carolina was quick but careful to hide their bodies. Ken left the bush upon seeing one guard walk past him. He slowly crouch walked behind him keeping his footstep noises to a minimum. To the sudden surprise of the guard, Ken kicked him in the back of the left knee and held his mouth and nose into a tight grip. Having been restricted the access to air, the guard slowly found his consciousness slipping away. Ken was quick to move the guard's limp body into the bush and jumped to tail his next few targets.

Ken activated his right gauntlet and with a whisper called upon his ally. "Church, I need you here bud."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"How many can you detect inside the building?"

"Hold up," he quickly transferred over to the cameras on the premises and studied the very formal office like building. _Huh, that's not good_. He appeared by Ken's side again. "You are not gonna like this one."

"Lay it on me chief."

"I would say a good twenty guards inside that two story office building. All of them are carrying assault rifles."

"So," Carolina interrupted. "We go in guns blazing then?"

"Oh no," Chloe protested. "We are not going Rambo style here, you hear me?"

"Yes mom," Church scoffed in a lazy and exaggerated voice. Chloe let out an annoyed sigh. "Look, I don't like the idea of having a base full of goons chasing after us merrily all throughout the night. I would like to get some peaceful sleep tonight after this, thank you very much."

"I gotta agree with her on this one Church," said Ken. "I'm not exactly too fond of the idea of having guys chase after me either."

"Oh I'm sure your tone would be different if we threw a few girls into the mix eh?" Church joked earning a sly grin from the young assassin. Carolina sighed with some disgust. _Boys_ , she thought knocking out another bunch of guards and quickly hiding them. Chloe steered their conversation back on track. "Anyways, just do this quietly. The element of surprise is far more beneficial to us than loud obnoxious noises and explosions."

"And here I was hoping I could finally make explosions large enough to make Bay have the wet dreams of his life," Church replied disappearing back to Carolina. Ken avoided those he could, but was not afraid to take care of any obstacle in his way through any means necessary, even if that meant a painful death for his targets. He caught up to the ex-Freelancer who signalled for him to quickly peek into the room. The area was empty. "Good pick for an entry."

"That compliment still won't get you out of that drink you owe me from before," Carolina boasted with a wide grin under the helmet. Church appeared beside her with his arms crossed and tapped one foot to what may very well be the ground to him. "And like I said before, no more drinking for you sis."

"I keep it in moderation now, so it's all good."

"Except when the urges become too great," Church leaned forward with both his hands on his hips. "We both know what a wreck you become at times like those."

"Guys, while this conversation is enlightening and I get to learn some great information for leverage- I mean to help with later, we really need to get this shit done and over with," Ken spoke pointing to the window. He placed a small glass cutter by the window lock and opened a circular access for his arm. He reached inside and unlocked the window. "There we go, ladies first."

"How sweet, except I'm no lady," Carolina mused playfully punching him on the arm. The two jumped through at the same time and got their bearings straight on enemy positions. Carolina motioned for Ken to move to the next room and said. "You take half and I take the other half?"

* * *

"Deal," and before anyone could create a cause for alarm, the building was being cleared out one enemy at a time. It was only after a few had disappeared, that some became alarmed and roamed the floors more frequently. This became both an advantage and a disadvantage to the two depending on their positions. Ken jumped out to drag one to the shadows, before he could fire his gun to alert the others, Ken smashed the man's nose and sent his consciousness dreaming. _Uh-oh, that was a tad bit too loud. Hopefully the others don't notice_.

"It came from somewhere here, I'm sure of it!" an enemy soldier came running into the room with a few others. Ken's shoulders dropped as his eyebrows twitched with frustration. _Oh fuck my life_. He looked towards Carolina who had the geographical advantage. She made use of it alongside her camouflage unit. As she stood behind the group, she quickly activated the speed module and knocked them all unconscious. "Jeez Ken, keep this up and I will start asking for compensation."

The two rushed up to the second floor and easily cleared it out without alerting their target inside the main office. Ken stretched his neck and shook his legs. "Time for the final boss."

"You have been playing too many video games again, haven't you?" Chloe inquired hearing his words. Ken walked forward to the door and stared through the keyhole. _How good it is that some things from the past don't die out so easily. Keyhole, you are my savior_. He motioned for Carolina to be in position. She stood behind him ready to burst the door open with her pistol drawn. As soon as he rolled out of the way, she kicked the doors and pointed her pistol up at the target. "Try anything and you are dead!"

"Yeah, deader than dead," Ken added only to realize how confusing his words sounded. "Wait, what's deader than being dead?"

"Not the time," Carolina muttered as Ken extended his right wrist blade. "Oh right, my bad."

He picked up the man of rather plump figure by his collar and threw him down to the ground. Ken stepped onto his prisoner's neck and said. "Let's lay some ground rules. You talk when we want you to talk. Do what we want you to do. Try anything else and you get to be happily acquainted with my little friend called 'Mr. Wrist Blade' of righteous pain and glory. Is that clear?"

The compound leader nodded his head while struggling to breath with his mouth. Ken smiled courteously and lifted him up so that he was sitting. "Good man, let's get started."

"W- What do you want to know?"

"I only want one thing, where is your leader Aria Langford?"

His face went pale at hearing the name. "I um…I don't know."

"You are a terrible liar," Ken noticed the man's sudden eye movements, his quick composure change at the mere mention of the name and the small sweat build up. He leaned forward nearly begging for his life. "Please, if they find out I told you something about her, they will kill me!"

Ken rested the tip of his wrist blade against the man's jugular. "You aren't exactly in a different position here either. Talk or die, there is no room for negotiation."

The man remained silent while contemplating his fate. Ken held his face up by his hair and explained. "Look Mr. Bigshot, you can tell us the info and escape this town. Leave before they ever find you. You will be doing some good and you can still survive this, better yet leave Earth altogether."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Beats me, you brought yourself into this position to begin with, your choices, your consequences. Now talk!"

Carolina kept watch outside and noticed some guards rattled. She called out to the young assassin and motioned for him to hurry it up. Ken felt the pressure, and with it his patience disappearing. "Alright, let's do this the hard way."

He lifted up the terrorist leader and slammed his front on the desk. He twisted the man's arm behind his back uncomfortably and threatened with a little pressure. "Where is she?!"

"Okay, I will talk!"

Ken let the arm go, but still held the man down. "Good choice, I guess you are the first I have come across in a long while to make a sensible choice in these situations. So. Info. Out, right now."

"Sh- She will be making an inspection visit to one of the arms factory out in Texas. You can find the details for it in the top drawer of my desk."

Ken jerked his head for Carolina to verify his words. She found a file filled with an explanation of the meeting. All the details they needed were in there. Ken nearly cracked into a victorious smile right then and there, but knew the hardest part came now, and that was make to it back home safely. He knocked the plump commander out and eyed the gathering forces outside of the building. "So much for a smooth exit."

Chloe looked at the numbers and knew she could only pick of so few before being spotted. She could not risk that, the best she could do right now was to relay the information about how heavily the soldiers were armed and their positions in relation to the building. Ken and Carolina ran up to the roof. She looked at Church and wrapped her arm around Ken's waist. He knew she was up to something so he held on tightly to her warrior's build. "Do it Church."

"One boost coming right up," Church answered as they flew up into the air. Those at the bottom took notice, but the two escapees were already too far away for them to catch on foot. Instead they opened fire. The alarms triggered alerting the whole base. Ken wore a fatigued expression. "I know I said I didn't want guys chasing after me, but now that it is happing, it feels far worse than I imagined."

"Yeah, yeah, total sausage fest," agreed Church. "Now let's just focus on that daring escape."

"Exit via the north gate, it's the least guarded place right now," Chloe scoped out the route from the exit to their getaway vehicle. Ken led the way with some assistance from Church feeding them real time information of the changing situation. The two finally exit through the gate with guards hot on their tails. Chloe retreated from her spot and prepped the vehicle for launch. Ken quickly rushed into the front seat, and Carolina jumped into the back. He looked behind them and in a panic and shouted to Chloe. "What are you waiting for Chloe, an invitation? It's time to go!"

* * *

Annoyed at his tone, she shifted gears and drove straight forward. Thanks to the lessened traffic, it was easier for her to move around on the road, and maintain masterful control of the car at the same time. They looked back once creating a fair bit of distance between the compound and the car. Carolina blurted a relaxed laughter. "Guess that's another base in the victory book?"

"That it sure is, and what a beauty it was," Church answered dryly before beginning to go through the information they retrieved. "We will need to talk to Siris about this one. We can't expect to go into another state on our own."

"Why not?"

"No, he is right!" Chloe firmly stated. "We have been going lone wolf for too long. Siris needs to know about what we have been up to. Otherwise we are no better than the very politicians who are trying to take away our funding that we tend to complain about."

Chloe made a hard right before nearing the city's exit. "Transparency is important. I have let it go up till now, but no more."

"Jeez relax Chloe," Ken rubbed her shoulder causing her to blush a little, but her position was strong on this issue. "I will relax when you start talking to Siris again, and especially about things related to Cradle of Hope. That is why ATSG was formed after all."

Ken removed his hands and held them up in surrender. "Okay, fine. The next opportunity I get to discuss the operation with him, I will do it in a heartbeat."

"Good."

They pulled up to the bunker. As the two exited the vehicle, Chloe went to park it in their hidden parking garage. She walked back to the entrance and found them waiting for her. Ken flipped open the door and looked up with a rather worried expression. "So who wants to bet that Siris will rip us all a new one?"

"I think it will only happen to you," Chloe said with her arms crossed. Carolina felt rather smug as well. "Yeah, this was all your idea after all."

"Thanks for the support there, go team go…yay..."

The three descended into the underground base and heard concerned noises coming through from the main operations room. Ken looked inside the area where Siris sat with his forehead in his hands. "Look, I kn-"

"No you don't. Your group has been producing less than stellar results. What makes you think we will consider cancelling this budget cut then?" spoke a deep, hoarse and commanding voice. Siris kept his head down quickly feeling his patience running out. _No wonder I hate dealing with these management politics_. "We gathered more data in the past few weeks than we ever have since our inception."

"Yet the costs associated with each operation have increased. We are not made of infinite money. Don't forget that your organization as well as your paycheck comes thanks to the tax payers. If you can't use that money efficiently, then we will have to take it away."

Ken leaned in close to Chloe and whispered. "So more budget cuts?"

"Unfortunately, yes. They have been more recent."

"So, still want me to go and talk to him right away?" Ken inquired a little shaken by the heavy atmosphere around his mentor. Chloe gave a sympathetic smile. "Maybe, preferably yes. But it's not my neck on the line here, so you do what you think is best."

His two compatriots left him alone to observe the elder man slowly pulling out his own hair. "Sir, please consider once again. We can do more good if we are allowed to retain our budget. Any more budget cuts and we may be forced to down scale, and maybe even shut down the ATSG."

"If that means finding a more efficient solution," said the shadowy figure on the screen. "Then I will happily support this choice."

The screen went black and Siris punched the desk in anger. Ken stood by the holographic table leaning forward deep in thought. Siris was quick to notice the young assassin's presence. He looked back without any words. Ken crossed his arms and said. "That sounded like it went well."

"I don't need such sarcasm right now Ken. It's rare for you to talk to me now days, what did you want?"

"I wanted to discuss a potential mission."

"So you felt like doing things by the book this time around."

Ken looked surprised as Siris gave him a knowing look. "Remember Ken, not much escapes my notice down here. What is this mission about?"

"We need some financial backing," Ken played with his hands as a sign of restraint of his abrasive tone behind his back. Even now his anger towards Siris had yet to die down for the lie he had fabricated this whole time. "There is a mission in the state of Texas that we want to tackle."

"Obviously the answer is no."

"Would your tone still remain the same if I said this mission was to apprehend Aria?"

Siris suddenly stopped what he was doing to look back at his young student. "Okay, I'm listening."

Ken motioned a folder out of his bag. "All the details of her visit to one of their weapons factory can be found in there. The important bits are that of her schedule. If things go as they plan to, it grants us an opportunity to capture her."

Siris let out a rather surprised noise. "Hmm, this mission isn't something easy to fund, you realize that right? The travel costs alone would eat up this month's budget quite a bit."

"But the rewards outweigh the risks."

"And what if you don't succeed?"

"I didn't realize you grew to be such a pessimist," Ken rebutted earning a fatigued look. Siris shook his head and crossed his arms. "Internal politics can really wear a person out to the point of fear. Anymore failures on our part and we come one step closer to the chopping block."

"Even in failure there is always an opportunity," Ken said firmly reminding Siris. "This was what you taught me."

"Yes, I did. But politicians and government personnel don't see things like this. Instead they only see the bottom line and reports full of numbers. We don't only exist to serve and protect clearly, unfortunately we have to please these government schmucks as well."

"Let me take Chloe and Carolina with me and we will make sure to get something good back here."

Siris shook his head from side to side throwing the report in front of Ken. "You are asking for a lot. But…get your team ready."

Ken turned to leave, but was abruptly stopped by Siris calling out to him.

"Ken, I better not regret this decision you hear?" Siris answered with a mumbled breath. Ken knew the pressure Siris was under, not just from the government or the ATSG, but from him as well to try and repair their relationship. While their working relationship did not suffer, their interactions outside of work lessened dramatically to the point they felt like simple acquaintances to one another now rather than friends. Siris bit his lower lip and slowly closed his eyes. _Why is asking for forgiveness so bloody difficult? Just do it already Siris!_

* * *

Aria felt her muscles flex and her back tone out as she lifted herself up on the monkey bar. Sweat dripped down her neck and sent a shiver of chills as it would touch her more sensitive areas. She grunted at the bout of strength she used to once again lift herself up, and breathed out gently when slowly going back down. She heard the sounds of a sliding door open behind her in their main base of operations.

Adrian entered the room to see the mess she had made while working out. "I see you are sparing no effort in building yourself again."

He moved to clear out a few weights from the floor. She stepped back down onto the ground and chugged down a water bottle. She set it down hard and wiped her forehead. "I prefer to be in shape. Why are you here Adrian?"

"The nuclear cases have been all transported here safe and sound. We have everything we need to build them now."

Aria threw the towel over her shoulder and left the gym. She entered her room to change out into her uniform and followed Adrian down the well lit hallways. She looked at the various other rooms where engineers, scientists, mechanics and people from all different walks of life worked. It still amazed her to this day to the different type of people willing to believe in their cause. She was confident that even if someone were to stand in their way, they won't just give up, and every one of their members would choose to go down fighting.

Adrian entered in the access codes to a panel by his right. He made way for Aria to enter first as she saw a protective suit hanging up by the left side of the room. Adrian put on one to the right side of the room and commanded for her to do the same. Ready to enter, the two proceeded inside the secure area where the nuclear materials were being kept. Adrian stopped to look at all eight cases and explained. "The scientists have checked them all. They are all good and usable right away. We simply need to process and weaponize them."

Aria smothered her hand on the case to the farthest from the entrance and smiled. _We have waited for so long to begin our revolution, and you will help us_. She stood up and unlocked the top case. The two halves of the casing slid open and she stared at the nuclear core stored inside. A wide grin plastered itself on her face. She moved to another box and found a uranium core inside, enough to create nuclear fuel for at least ten of what they planned to create. "With this, if there is such a thing as god, then even they would bow to us."

"Rather ironic though is it not?" Adrian caught her glimpse. "We are an organization that started out to protect the environment, and now we threaten it with these machinations of deranged minds from the past."

She looked back down to the uranium ore and said. "Sometimes compromises must be made. The planet will be scarred, but as long as it is given time to heal, it will recover. That means that the humans will be forced to keep themselves in check. If anything, this display of nuclear threat will only force those outside of Earth to change their ways. We will make them change. If humans want to survive as a species for a long time to come, then they must change."

"Corruption, greed, and the other vices of human existence," Adrian scoffed to which Aria agreed. "The very things that distort the meaning in our existence, and because of this there are always events in human history to come in this form…contradictorily it gives rise to conflict that was in the first place designed to help promote peace and protection."

"Sacrifices are necessary," Aria argued glancing towards Adrian. "You and my parents taught me this. Whenever something grand is to happen that changes the very fundamentals of society, sacrifices are bound to occur. Humans after all have never moved forward without some conflict occurring. Violence it seems is the most impactful teacher there is for people to learn their lesson as a species."

"Then shall I suggest creating a few more unforeseen sacrifices?"

"Meaning launch them without any warning?"

"Yes," Adrian slyly grinned rubbing his hands together. Aria glared at his weasel form and could already foresee a conflict arising in their differing belief on these matters. "A warning comes first. There will be no compromises on this. People must be given one last chance to change their ways."

"Humans never learn."

"Just like you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know about how you encouraged the operation to send in Creed to ward off the ATSG," Aria's voice grew heavy. "I know all about your hate for his presence in the organization, and in such a high position to boot. Do not forget that I brought him here because he deeply believed in our cause. He was also a precious mentor to me."

"And you cannot forget that you are the leader, so stop acting on these feelings Aria," Adrian scolded quickly evening out their grounds of a power struggle. None the less Aria still maintained a stronger grip over Adrian and his actions. "I know how to behave like a leader. I know how to care for our troops. The warning comes first, if they fail to respond appropriately, then we use these."

She walked to the communication panel near the exit door and called in the scientific team. As the team's leader entered behind the rest, he was dragged to the side by Aria. "Make sure that you can weaponize these cores and uranium ores in the given time frame. The plan will not tolerate delays."

"Yes ma'am," the scientist answered with a proud outstretched back. With no time to waste, he got to work coordinating his team to begin the refinement process of the uranium ore into nuclear fuel. He began to coordinate with various other departments to ensure the production of any additional materials required. Aria left with Adrian knowing that the job was in trusted hands.

* * *

Aria exited the cool confines of the nuclear storage rooms and into the hallway. She greeted several soldiers along the way while making small talk with a few. Adrian was still surprised by her ability to connect with the soldiers so easily. They have had other great leaders in their organization, but none have been as good at inspiring loyalty as her, because she herself was not afraid of stepping in the grunt's shoes. Everyone knew that she was willing to get her hands dirty like the rest of them to do what was necessary. They also understood how much burden she was happy to carry on her shoulders to succeed. This was more than enough to guarantee their loyalty and care for it created a sense of family between the groups.

Aria stopped in her tracks to look back at Adrian. "About what I asked for when I first awoke. Have you found _him_ yet?"

"Your brother is still missing," said the elder man. "I would not hold out much hope for him if I were you. You have other things to worry about."

"I can handle these tasks, but my only remaining family is still important to me," Aria lowered her gaze as she gritted her teeth. "Plus, things became like this because of our parents. Were it not for their last will, the two of us would still be together. He would have been standing where he truly belongs, by my side leading this organization."

"But reality speaks a different tune."

Aria reluctantly agreed, but was insistent on continuing their efforts. "Keep looking. The first bit of information that comes through, immediately deliver it to me."

"Understood," Adrian replied watching her turn her curvy figure and walk away. He clenched his fists and cursed under his breath. _Blasted siblings! I don't care about your brother. Just do your job of reforming this world. Everything else can go to hell_.

* * *

 **A/N: That was a long chapter eh?**

 **So out of curiosity, based on what we have here so far, what do you think will happen in this story?**

 **Constructive feedback is appreciated!**

 **Thank you so much for taking the time to read, your support is always appreciated :).**

 **~ Monty**


	3. Let's All Get Along

**A/N: Just a little heads-up/reader warning. This chapter contains a light sex scene. If you don't like reading sex scenes, then I suggest you skip the content between the fourth and fifth break line.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Let's All Get Along**

In the vast emptiness of space, and within the metal confines of a UNSC ship took place a protest. The orange soldier, Grif and the one belonging to Chorus by the name of Bitters took a stand against the chef. They both shouted one thing and one thing only. "We want pudding! We want pudding!"

Simmons watched the show from afar as he greeted Matthews entering from the farthest entrance. The motivational speaker approached the tech 'expert' of the red team and asked. "Are they still going at it?"

"Yup, apparently they are considering starting a religion based around pudding just so they can get access to it."

"Wait, how would that work?"

"Space Law Article 412 Section 12, any actions against religion based on circumstances can be ruled as a crime followed by imprisonment. So they want to take the chef to court I guess."

"All this for some pudding?"

"Apparently," Simmons remarked shaking his shoulders. "Hey, I stopped trying to make sense of half the stuff Grif does now days."

"Maybe I should go stop him," Matthews took the incentive to approach the protestors. Simmons snickered under his breath. "Good luck with that."

"Hey guys, I heard you are holding a protest for pudding," Matthews butted in between the three. The chef was relieved to see another soldier in the hopes that this one maybe able to talk some sense into the other two. Bitters agreed as his plump belly bounced up and down. "Pudding is love, pudding is life."

"You tell him Bitters!" Grif encouraged turning back to the chef. "Now, where is that bath of pudding I was promised by Muffins?!"

"Like I said before, there just isn't enough to go around," the chef noted tapping his finger on his arm. Matthews looked at both sides with a sense of astonishment. _Okay, so both sides are seemingly as crazy as one another_. "Guys, calm down. No need to get so worked up over pudding. I'm sure if you wait, you will get your fair share."

"Fair share?" Grif asked in a disgusted voice. "Fuck that, I want the whole thing. I need it, give it to me now, now I say!"

"Yeah, plus I feel my tummy growling already," Bitters added with the whole cafeteria hearing a lion's roar originating from his stomach. Matthews again reasoned. "Come on gang, we have to learn to share and play well with others. Else, you won't be able to work as a team."

"Ugh, just shut up Matthews!" Grif groaned in annoyance and turned to leave. "You know what? I think I will go start that pudding religion after all."

* * *

A pink soldier's sat in his room with a stereo by his side. He pressed the play button and began humming to the sound of the music. "Do, do, do, do, do, dah…do, do, do, do, do, dah…"

He took a bite of a cheese ball and washed it down with the bitter sweet taste of grape wine. "Do, do, do, do, do, dah…drink some wine, drink some wine and everyone will be happy. Eat some cheese, eat some cheese and the world will keep on going round and round…unless you are in space!"

He took another bite of the cheese, this time some cheddar cheese. "Sing along, sing along and the world will be a brighter place!"

He gulped it down with some more delicious wine. "Dance along, dance along and everyone will be merry!"

Donut suddenly stopped and looked at the loud banging that originated from the door. A gruff and hoarse, but familiar voice spoke. "Are you singing in there Donut?"

"Oh hey Sarge, yeah!" said the pink soldier as he opened the door. "Want to join in? It's tons of fun, I guarantee it!"

"Donut, how many times do I have to tell you? If you want to sing, you sing the glorious song of Red vs. Blue!"

"Oh you mean this one?" Donut quickly rubbed the mouth piece of his helmet in thought and recalled the lyrics. With a clear voice he sung. "Roses are red

Violets are blue

One day we will cruise down

Blood Gulch avenue

It's red versus red

And blue versus blue

It's I against I

And me against y-"

"Wait, what's this nonsense of red versus red, and the blue versus blue?" Sarge inquired baffled by what he heard. "Where is the glorious battle between the reds and the blues? Where is the fated moment where reds come out on top?!"

"Um…I don't think that's how the song goes Sarge."

"Well that's just ridiculous, who in their right red mind wouldn't want to sing that?" Sarge complained crossing his arms. "Also, red team rules, go team red."

"I don't know, I thought it was pretty good," said the captain of the ship. The two reds nearly jumped in their spots. Donut caught his breath. "That was not very nice Muffins. You shouldn't sneak up on people."

"Ja, sorry, sorry," the German Captain admitted but leaned forward. "I smelled some good cheese and my nose brought me here."

"Oh that? I'm having my daily wine and cheese hour," Donut pointed to the pleasantries behind him on his desk. "Want some?"

"Oh, don't mind if I do," Muffins said flexing his fingers in front of his chest. "Here I come, Mr. Delectable Cheese!"

"Well if you two start singing, sing the glorious red version of the Red vs. Blue song," Sarge mumbled turning to leave the two cheese eaters to their devices, and let them both drown in a bottle of wine.

* * *

Caboose stalked the halls with Andersmith following close behind. They browsed the various facilities of the ship together with this acting as a walk for Freckles. The two came to a stop upon Caboose's command by the recreation facilities. "Man, I sure wish they would let me back in."

"Why, what happened?" asked Caboose's walk partner. Freckles modulated his voice through the rifle. "Captain Caboose was involved in a…minor incident that caused him to be permanently banned from the recreation area, the bridge, the cafeteria-"

"Wait. Is there any place he is not banned from?"

"I seem to recall them saying something about outer space," answered Freckles as Caboose began to get worked up. "Well, I was only trying to help at that time."

"I'm sure they just misunderstood sir," Andersmith replied feeling a proud sense of usefulness in Caboose's troubles. The blue soldier happily agreed. "And thus, this is why you are my best friend number three."

"Why three?" Andersmith asked nearly cracking into disappointment. Caboose noticed the effects of his words and stumbled on his next few words. "Um, because…um, three is a lucky number?"

"My god, I never thought to think of it like that," Andersmith pondered deeply with his head down. He slowly lifted his spirits up and with it his head. "Such pure wisdom, you are a blessing to this universe."

* * *

Ohio's eyes slowly peeled open, and upon the blurred surroundings she groaned at the bare feeling against the bed. As her vision adjusted, she looked down to her slimming form outlined by the thin white bed sheets. Ohio felt the bed move with another person beside her. _Let me guess who that is_ , Ohio thought turning to look at Sherry sleeping completely naked by her side. Ohio nearly gasped with embarrassment as she quickly looked at herself under the bed sheets. _Oh, right, that was a busy night_.

She covered her body with the sheet and sat up to observe the peaceful expression on Sherry's face. She bent down over her and gently kissed her forehead. Just as she was retreating, she felt a hand on the back of her smooth and silky hair. Sherry held her close to her mouth and landed a kiss right out of the ball park leaving Ohio gasping for air. "You dummy, you should have said something if you were awake."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't pamper me then," Sherry explained and laughed at the red cheeks Ohio wore. She took her partner into a hug under the bed sheets. "You know, you are so adorable when you are embarrassed like this."

The two rested their foreheads against one another wearing a blissful smile. Sherry let out a moan of satisfaction. "Don't you sometimes wish time would just freeze, and that nothing changes, that we are just here together…forever."

"Yeah," Ohio whispered gazing deeply into Sherry's eyes. "But you know what, growing old together won't be so bad either."

Sherry agreed to the sentiment. "I guess you are right. I wonder what we will be like in ten, twenty or even forty year's worth of time."

"We will both be raging dykes still I'm sure," Ohio grinned earning a gentle flick to the forehead. "And did you know? It's cute to see you all worked up Sherry."

Sherry crossed her arms and puffed up her cheeks. "Bully."

"Oh?" Ohio snuggled closer feeling their body heat melt together. "Would a bully do this?"

She kissed Sherry's nape and sent her partner moaning in pleasure. Sherry looked back with flirtatious and competitive eyes. She wasn't about to let Ohio be the only one to hold the upper hand here. She ran her hands down her partner's body, she could feel the shudder through Ohio slowly turning them both on. "So, you remember what got us into this last night in the first place?"

"That boring ass romance movie you suggested we watch, right?" Ohio responded running a long and thin finger down Sherry's spine.

"Ah…I didn't know it would be that bad."

"You have always had pretty terrible taste when it comes to romance flicks," Ohio smirked. "I can't believe how clichéd that film was that it nearly put us to sleep."

"So are you glad that I suggested this alternative activity then?" Sherry asked gripping Ohio's thigh and moving it over her body. She moved her right leg in between Ohio's leg to hear a satisfying groan. "Judging by that look and sound, I would say you were."

Ohio suddenly ran her hands up Sherry's well built torso. She gently cupped her partner's bosom and smothered them gently, massaging them to the point of fierce pleasure. Sherry nearly screamed from the contractions taking place between her legs, but held back at the last second to avoid alerting any living soul outside. She bit the bed cloth as her body shook from the after effects. Ohio grinned smugly much to Sherry's annoyance. "You got lucky this time around."

"This time around?" Ohio questioned. "If I recall correctly, this is probably something like over at least fifty times that I have gotten lucky according to you."

Sherry turned her head away too feverish from the words to properly face Ohio. The ex-Freelancer hugged Sherry from the back and rested her forehead on her back. "So, feel like going again soon?"

"You really are a horny bitch, you know that?" Sherry joked, to which Ohio agreed. "What can I say? I love a good night time Olympics session."

* * *

Tucker stood in the shooting range practicing his aim alongside Palomo. Both reloaded their weapons in unison and continued firing. Tucker noticed how much Palomo seemed to imitate his actions. To throw off his partner, he feigned a reload causing Palomo to lose his rhythm. "Aw man, I thought you were going to reload for real."

"What's the deal with you dude?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you copying my moves and shit?" Tucker asked annoyed at having Palomo stick with him nearly every conscious second of his day. The good Chorus soldier answered. "Well, I thought that if I want to be a badass, then I should start by sticking by the one who is the baddest of them all. Plus, imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

"Oh yeah," Tucker drew out his sword and swung it around. "Well, try and copy this!"

Palomo exited Tucker's line of sight. _Oh finally, some peace and quiet_. But soon he was back with a dummy sword. "Sorry for the wait, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find one of these in the storage area."

Tucker lowered his gaze to the ground and nearly bit his tongue in anger. _I don't even know why I expected that to work, fuck me_. Palomo swung it around exactly like Tucker. _If there is a god out there, then please help me and spare me this bullshit suffering. I promise I will even give up the porn…okay maybe the porn stored on my suit's storage. Giving up all of it seems like asking for too much_. Tucker took out his sword and with conviction he sliced the dummy sword in half. "Palomo, I seriously, fucking, hate you."

"Aw, don't be like that," the sand colored armored soldier with aqua trims responded taking out his rifle. "I'm sure some more shooting will help that anger right on out."

"I sure would like to shoot something out with that hot pelican pilot chick, bow-chicka-bow-wow."

"What?"

"Nothing," Tucker raised his gun and began firing. Palomo was impressed by Tucker's aim and attempted to emulate it. But to no success he failed. "Wow Tucker, I didn't know your aim was so precise."

"It takes years of practice and a lot of alone time," he replied before realizing what Palomo actually said. "Oh you meant the gun shooting…whatever."

The two continued onwards with their non-busy days buffing up, practicing their aim and generally feeling like bad asses in terms of combat skills. Well that was until Washington put them back in their place showing them that they still had a lot to learn.

* * *

Doc stood in the firing range with his rocket launcher aimed at the target. With a maniacal laugh he open fired. The loud explosion created spasms of intense pleasure in his mind. "Mwhaha, yes, suck it you inanimate practice dummy!"

Lopez walked up behind the purple soldier and nearly surprised Doc into blasting the two to oblivion. "[Stop firing those rockets in the firing range. I am the one who is going to have to repair the dummies up after practice.]"

"What's that my old accomplice? You want me to use deadlier rockets?"

"[No!]"

"Well why didn't you say so earlier? I could certainly go for more scattered parts here and there like severed limbs," O'Malley went deep into an imaginative thought and said with disappointment. "Too bad we can't use live targets."

Fed up with Doc's ignorance, Lopez took the rocket launcher, broke off the handle and the trigger and handed it back to its owner. "[Knock yourself out crazy medic man.]"

* * *

Washington stalked the hallways searching for his two targets. He had them in his sights. _Finally, there is no escaping this time_. He sneakily approached the two and placed a firm grip on their shoulders. Bitters and Grif panicked as they looked back. Grif was quick to try and struggle, but Bitters was too busy indulging himself in his sandwich. Grif held Wash's hand trying to pry it off. "Come on man, don't be such a stickler for training!"

"Oh no you don't!" Wash said tightening his grip. "You two won't be skipping out on anymore training, not on my watch!"

Grif swung his arms backwards nearly hitting Wash in the visor, but the ex-Freelancer managed to kick Grif down to the floor and started to drag the two away. Bitters was too busy chomping on the delicious steak sandwich to notice his abduction. Grif snatched the sandwich right out of Bitters' hand hearing a rather disturbing cry like that of a child. _Wow, not only has his stomach become more circular, his mind becomes like a five year old when it comes to food_. Grif smirked threatening to throw it on the floor. "I'm going to do it Bitters!"

"No you won't, you never waste food!"

"I ain't afraid!"

"Then I double dare you. Do it!"

Grif released his grip on the sandwich. Bitters' eyes widened with a gasp of shock discharging from his mouth. He found unfathomable strength in his large body and pushed away from Wash. Before the sandwich made friends with the ground, He managed to catch most of it in his fat hands and breathed a sigh of relief. "Safe!"

Wash moved to restrain Bitters, but was forced to let go of Grif in their current placements. He warned Grif to stay down, but without hesitation the orange soldier stood up and ran away. Washington grunted and held out an open hand. "Wait!"

"What's that I hear?" Grif yelled back. "I think that's the sound of nachos calling me out for a snack date."

 _I will get you yet Grif_ , Wash wondered pulling Bitters away to his bitter fate of training and lose the fat. "No, wait. My sandwich…uwwwaaahhhh!"

"You are making a valiant sacrifice Bitters, I always knew you were a great subordinate all this time," Grif complimented before taking the turn towards the cafeteria. Bitters words now fell on deaf ears. "I'm not brave, don't leave me. If you are going to the cafeteria, tell the chef to make me a subway!"

* * *

Darryl slid a glass of scotch on the rock towards Idaho. He took a sip and felt the chill expand through his mouth and to the rest of his body. He held up the glass gratefully towards Darryl and turned to Terrill and Iowa. "Oh, I got another one. Name five things that you would want to do if you were stuck in a room full of sweet delights."

"Um, roll around in the cream!" Iowa announced. Idaho counted it down. Terrill took a sip of his beer and said. "Jump face first into the muffins and cakes."

"That's two."

"How about making a smiley face with the cup cakes?"

"Yeah, I can get down with that," Idaho replied half emptying his cup. "So that's three."

"Give everything a good licking so it becomes all yours," Terrill answered. "Gotta prepare in case someone finds you right?"

"Another one would be to just straight up eat it until your tummy starts to swell up," Iowa rubbed his tummy only to imagine the sweet savory delights melting in his mouth. The group all chugged down their drinks together and looked out the window at the various colors of the space warp wormhole. Terrill cleared his throat after chewing down on his ice and asked. "So, how long till we get to our first location?"

"Who knows?" said Darryl sipping the last of the drink. "Only the people on the bridge would be able to give you that kind of information."

"Or ask those little fairies I guess," Iowa stated only to be corrected by Idaho rather quickly. "I keep telling you Iowa, they are not fairies. They are A.I."

"What's the 'A' stand for?"

"Artificial."

"How about the 'I'?"

"Intelligence."

"Oh I get it," Iowa took a moment to process the thought before again asking. "Sorry but what did the 'A' stand for again?"

"Let's just move on," Idaho answered as the group put down their glasses. He looked to Darryl and said. "Your drinks even after all this time haven't lost their edge. You gotta teach me one of these days how you prepare them so well."

"Yeah, then you can get piss drunk like us every day," Terrill replied already feeling a little woozy after having what was his twentieth glass for today. Iowa raised his arms in a cheer. "Hooray for piss drinking!"

"Owohh, so close buddy, so close," Idaho replied cringing at the picture of piss drinking.

* * *

"Gentlemen, we are fast approaching the exit," said Sigma as the other fragments appeared behind him. The bridge crew looked at the nearing exit of the wormhole. Buttmunch looked at the communications officer and said. "Make a ship wide announcement for the captain to come back to the bridge."

"Yes sir."

Delta studied the data and passed on his conclusions to the other fragments. "It seems that this group will be quite unique as our first encounter."

The other fragments agreed at seeing the 'different' personalities compromising the groups of reds and the blues. Muffins walked onto the bridge wobbly from the wine and leaned on Boyscout for support. "Hmm, have you been working out because I spot a nice ass."

Boyscout immediately dropped him on the metal floor. "Oops, my _bad_."

Muffins grumbled on the floor as he scrapped his body against the support railings. "I so love it when you play hard to get."

"Um sir?" one of the female bridge crew members asked only to be quietened at the sudden glare from the German captain. He snarled and sneered her way. When it came to the men, his expression softened and treaded in to the creep territory. Muffins eyed their ship engineer Williams and slid in close. "So handsome, got any plans going on later?"

Buttmunch held Muffins by his head and swung it around to face the holographic displays. "Sir, we are almost at our destination. We didn't call you up here just so you could flirt and disrupt the flow of our work."

Muffins nearly gasped. "You people work up here? I thought everyone was up here for shits and giggles."

Boyscout stared in bewilderment and stated. "I can't tell if he is serious or not and that's very concerning."

The whole ship shook with tremors vibrating through the hull as they exited the wormhole. In front of them was a brown planet. To those on the ship it seemed farfetched for anyone to survive on there for long, but the data pings from the red's and the blue's base seemed to be very active. Muffins straightened out his uniform and asked for one of the ship's crew members to call up Agent Washington. "He will want to see this."

The ship slowly eased closer until it was just beyond the stratosphere and hovered still. The BGC entered the ship's bridge and looked at the planet before them. Washington nodded his head and smiled under the helmet. "Alright, time to get to work."

* * *

 **A/N: So that sex scene must have been quite the surprise. But I put it in there to try and show off a more playful relationship between Ohio and Sherry. Sure they have flirted before, but being in the public eye, I felt that they would never be able to let loose and show their true selves unlike being in the private company of one another.**

 **Other than that, this was meant to be more or less a take it easy kind of chapter, with more focus on the comedy. Next chapter however will really move things along. I hope you found at least some of the things in here funny.**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for your readership! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	4. Worst Negotiations Ever

**Chapter 3: Worst Negotiations Ever**

"Okay, so everyone knows how this will go down?" asked Wash as he watched his teammates board the Pelican. Grif looked back and answered. "Relax dude, how hard can this be?"

"Considering how long it took us to actually work with one another," Simmons interjected. "I would imagine pretty damn hard."

"Agreed," Wash was the last to step aboard. He motioned for the pilot to begin the launch procedure. "That's why we will go with what's familiar to them. Red team goes to Red base. The Blue team goes to Blue base."

Donut, Doc and Lopez waved the Pelican away from aboard the ship and decided to indulge in their own pleasures for the time being. The Pelican detached from the clamps holding it in place and flew downwards from the exit hatch. The pilot increased forward momentum and began atmospheric entry. "Everyone hold on tight, things will get a little bumpy."

The hull shook violently as the shields struggled to hold up. _What is this piece of junk made of?_ Tucker pondered while gripping the restraint bars firmly. As they broke through the atmosphere, they all felt an intense pull towards the floor of the ship. Sarge nearly slumped downwards in his seat from the effects. "Um, what is going on? Men, status report!"

"It must be the planet's gravity," theorized Simmons having Eta pull up the planet report on his HUD. Washington further explained. "It is at least five times that of Earth and three times that of Blood Gulch. So we are bound to feel some effects."

"At least we will get our workout squeezed in on this mission," joked Tucker as Caboose excitedly agreed. "This is going to be the best field trip, EVER!"

The pilot displayed the data for the base positions and began to fly around in the direction of the closest one. Even she could feel the planet's gravity having an intense effect on the ship as she struggled to keep the bird up horizontal. The joy stick vibrated violently from the feedback that grew even more as they neared the surface. She activated the Pelican's landing gears. As the Pelican circled the spot she eyed, it slowly descended constantly fighting against the ensnaring pull. With the loud shake of the hull, and a bump to the bottom of the Pelican, they finally landed. The pilot looked back and motioned for the blue team to get out. "Alright, we are here guys."

* * *

Washington led blue team out onto the surface. Even he felt his legs nearly give out on him. _Oh god, I'm getting old_. He tightened his muscles and stood back up. _Now there is a thought I never contemplated saying for many years to come_. He looked back to see Tucker leading himself with one leg at a time. He gripped the leg by the back of his thigh and flipped it forward, and so on and so forth. _Well, at least he isn't complaining_ , thought Wash and turned to study Caboose who for some strange reason was perfectly fine. _Caboose, I will never understand where you get this monstrous strength of yours from_.

The Pelican began its liftoff. Wash waved back wishing the other team the best of luck. "So, let's go see about raising that army, shall we gentlemen?"

"Ugh, right behind you O' wise leader," Tucker replied snarkily. Sigma made an appearance beside his owner with a suggestion in hand. "May I suggest using your jets to help make travel easier Captain Tucker?"

"Good point," Tucker said as he activated a blue hue of jet exhaust on his back armor and jumped up into the air. "Okay, fuck walking. I'm going all the way to the destination like a hopping toad."

"Cute," Wash noted and activated his jets. He commanded Caboose to do the same. But in fear of an unfortunate event taking place, Wash made sure to command Delta to stand in control of Caboose's jets. The three jumped through the terrain still unable to believe that life could even exist on this barren rock of a planet. For miles they saw no greenery, only more rock formations that left them overwhelmed by this lifeless feeling planet. There were certainly no pipelines either to help transfer resources like water to the bases. _They must get the supplies via air drops_ , thought Washington as he stopped to see what looked like a mirage, but thankfully it was real. He looked back and pointed towards their nearing destination. "Just a little further, let's go!"

"Oh, I can't wait to get there," Caboose exclaimed jumping up behind Tucker. The aqua soldier looked back and smirked under his helmet. "You know people from this base?"

"Sort of," Caboose answered happy to once again soon see more familiar faces. They neared the base now at the edge of its border. The blue soldiers on watch raised their weapons. Washington quickly dispelled the situation. "At ease soldiers, we are with the blue team of Blood Gulch. We are here to speak with the man in charge here."

The two soldiers looked at one another and back to the ex-Freelancer. "Well your armors are blue, but how do we know you really are with the blue team?"

"Here are our IDs," Wash transferred them through an open channel to the two soldiers who verified their data by cross referencing it with their limited database access. The two stepped to the side. "You guys check out. Sorry for the trouble, but you can never trust strangers now days, especially with what those dastardly reds may try. If you want to speak to the commander, just go straight ahead into the building in the center. You can't miss it. He will be in there."

"Thanks for your help," said the trio as they proceeded inside. The two soldiers looked at the dark blue armored soldier and then back to one another in astonishment. "Is that…?"

"No, it couldn't be," said the second soldier praying to god that it was not what they thought it was. The trio walked through the rather well organized base. Washington breathed a sigh. "See Tucker, this is what a well run blue base looks like."

"Sure it looks well run," the aqua soldier said averting his eyes to the side in a very sarcastic manner. The trio entered the main building of the base and noticed their man sitting behind a desk and reluctantly doing paperwork. Caboose was happy to see him again as he rushed up to the desk. "Hello Principal Miller, did you miss me? I missed you!"

The CO looked up with horror in his eyes. "Oh no…"

"You wouldn't believe the adventures I went on after I left Rat's Nest."

"God no…"

Tucker rested a hand on Caboose's shoulder and kept him from talking any further. Washington recognised the CO as well and immediately took steps to intervene. But before he could get a word in, Miller stood by the base wide communication radio and said. "Boys, enact the 'Caboose is here, I lose my shit!' protocol, now!"

Everyone on the base save for a select few reached into their belts. They all opened up a side pocket and took out a pill. Throwing their helmets down to the ground they took one bite of the tablet and fell to the ground. The trio looked at one another in confusion and heard the sound of falling bodies. They exited the building to see the now massive graveyard. Tucker let out a rather surprised whistle. "Wow, wait a go Caboose. That must be a new record, even for you."

"Okay now see that was not my fault," Caboose answered in a meek voice. "Probably…hopefully."

Washington looked at the few remaining soldiers and looked back at the dead CO. "This has got to be the worst negotiations ever, of all time. New plan, next time we go to red base."

"Yeah, good call," Tucker chuckled as the remaining blue soldiers approached the trio. Washington was curious as to why they didn't take the pill to which their answer was. "Well we are new here. Miller had an annoying message always playing on loop in our sleep that I think was meant to brainwash us into taking the tablets on his command. But since we weren't subjected to it as much, we escaped the sad and tragic fate."

"Yeah, but funny as shit," Tucker added earning the silence of all those around him. "What?"

"Too soon!" One of the blue soldiers replied. "So what happens to us now?"

"The reason we were originally here was to recruit your base for a mission on Earth," Wash explained. But before having to say any more, the blue soldiers jumped on board. "This place was stale anyways. We are up for the adventure."

"Oh, good," Wash was left both surprised and satisfied by the corpse filled outcome. The blue team was ready to depart and radioed into their comrades. But it seems that they had yet to reach their target destination.

* * *

Adrian adjusted the monitors on his desk as he heard the sound of the automatic doors opening behind him. He saw the familiar figure of their leader enter. She looked around the room with intrigue. It had been a long time since she visited his office. "What was it you called me for?"

He moved out of the way to grant a clear line of sight to his work monitors. "This."

Aria approached closer and looked at the pictures beside basic bio information. She nearly felt her heart skip a beat. "This is…"

"This is one of the news you have been waiting for," Adrian remarked with a smirk. "They are ready to be woken up. All the preparations are complete."

"Not all of them," Aria replied resting the weight of her body on one hand and leaned on his desk. She looked at the familiar faces and recalled the memories from her training. She felt a strange sense of sentimentality at recalling how they all behaved during the training with Creed. How brash, resourceful, passive, and power hungry some of them were. _I'm sure they haven't changed much since our last meeting_. Aria pointed to one named 'Dallas' and said. "I will go to some of them personally. I will also be able to get some of the troops their rallied together."

"There is no need for you to put yourself in such danger."

"There is," she argued. "If they can't see their own leader sticking their neck out, how can I expect them to do the same for me or this organization?"

Adrian remained quiet. He for the first time in a long while had no retort against her putting herself in danger for what he considered a menial task. She took his silence as the go ahead. "We will amass the troops and awaken the four Generals. We will have ourselves an army to take the streets of America with-"

"Part of an army," Adrian corrected. Aria seemed irritated at the interruption. "As I was saying, the grand plan is coming along smoothly. I will need you to book a flight seat for me."

"I can always have one of our ships fly you out there."

"It will look too suspicious if our bird was spotted in the air," Aria argued. "People will whisper and the law as well as the army will be sure to react. Blending in with the rest is the key."

Adrian again wanted to stop her, but could not argue against the logic. Even he knew the disaster that would be. He nodded his head conceding to her orders. "I imagine the general populace would shake in their boots if they knew we were among them, walking out in broad daylight."

Aria gave him a strange look and argued back. "What makes us so different from them? 'Them', 'us', and 'we' are all humans. The only thing different about us in this context are the beliefs we choose to support and the goals we chase."

She stood up and stared back at the monitor. "What about news regarding _him_?"

"Nothing as of yet I'm afraid. Your brother hasn't left much of a trail to follow."

"It means he has been thorough," she said with a most serious tone. "Then that means that the investigation team needs to try harder."

"They are trying their best."

"Their best in this case is not good enough. I will not compromise when it comes to my only family!"

"Then perhaps you would like to lead that investigation as well?" Adrian asked in a snarky voice. Aria clearly did not appreciate his tone, but understood the frustration. "Just let me know when something pops up."

She left her advisor feeling angrier by the second. He praised her abilities, but damned her weaknesses and her attachments. Adrian slowly stood up and walked towards the communication radio. He ordered for the teams to begin preparations for Aria's flight to Texas. It was going to be a long journey.

* * *

"Sarge, hold up," Simmons looked behind him to see the orange simulation trooper flat down on his belly and grumbling at the inconveniences of the gravity. Simmons approached his friend and kicked him in the left side. "Hey fatty, you still alive?"

Grif held up a middle finger towards Simmons. The maroon trooper looked towards Sarge and gave a head nod. Sarge shook his fist at Grif. "Dang it! Why must you survive Grif, why?!"

"May I suggest picking him up?" proposed Gamma looking at the pathetic form of his owner. Simmons tried to, but quickly gave up as every ounce of his breath left him dry trying. He waved Sarge over and together, they somehow managed to lift him up. Simmons noticed Grif dragging his feet on the ground as they carried him. "Come on. Start walking on your own already."

"You know Simmons, we can always just leave him here," Sarge looked at Grif with growing irritation. "No one will even question us if we just say that he got lost in a sand storm or fell down a ravine."

"Oh you two try it and I swear that I will come back to haunt both your asses," Grif finally stood up on his own in fear of the prospect becoming a reality. The three trekked onwards until finally coming across the red base. Simmons pulled out a pair of binoculars and studied the base activity. Several red soldiers were placed at various locations around the compound. Simmons voiced some concern as soon as he saw a long thin stick with a blue helmet pierced through it, and standing as a display piece. He then voiced concern as he saw various surgical tools strewn about on the buildings with what he could only guess was blood staining the walls. "Okay, they are a weird bunch…great."

"Like that's saying any different from us," Grif laughed. Simmons shot a glare towards his orange friend. "No you idiot, different as in way different."

"Here, let me see that," Sarge snatched the binoculars and came to his own conclusions. "Yup, they are all loonies."

"All of them?" asked Grif.

"Okay, maybe not all. But I saw a soldier with a white coat over his armor whipping another who seemed to be enjoying it. So they are a weird bunch."

"Hmm," Simmons stood up and began to descend down the mountain terrain. "Let's just go and get this over with. Remember guys, friendly faces."

"Like they could see it behind our visors," Grif responded sarcastically. Simmons waved his arms around like a big revelation. "Thanks for the useful contribution there Mr. Obvious."

"Anytime, now if you will excuse me," Grif pushed past the maroon trooper. "I'm gonna go make them my bitc- I mean my underlings. I can always use a few more dunder heads mindlessly following my orders."

"Your ego problem from Chorus is coming back isn't it?" Simmons stated worriedly. Sarge in response cocked back his shotgun. "Heh eh, there is an easy solution to that problem."

"Halt strangely red travelers!" One of the guards at the base held up their hand as the trio stopped in their tracks. "Identify yourselves before I smite thee with my iron fist of awesome justice."

"Um, I'm Grif."

"The name is Simmons."

"And I'm the best leader there ever will be in the history of mankind, I'm the legend that no man dares to speak of in fear of being crushed by how magnificent my presence is. I'm the one and the only, Sarge."

"Oh bullshit, leading isn't that hard Sarge," Grif protested recalling his experiences as a leader. "I can do it to."

"You mean you can lead others straight into the ground."

"Hey, I learned by watching you!"

"Quiet I say!" the guard held up a higher hand. "For if you do not obey then this mighty hand of mine that glows with this awesome power will come down on thee!"

"Okay seriously dude, what is up with the way you are talking?" Grif inquired shuffling in his spot. The rest looked at the guard for a response. He simply stood still frozen like an ice statue contemplating his response for a moment. "I'm the reincarnation of the brilliant and powerful being that no man can comprehend. I'm the almighty that will be given the respect he deserves!"

"Hey Private Idiot, who are those three you are talking to?" another red from behind the guard shouted. The guard immediately glared behind him to his compatriot. "God damn it Dave, I had this thing going here and you had to come and ruin it!"

"Oh well I'm sorry your all mighty cuckooness. Forgive me for my insolence," Dave held up his hands in a pathetic and half-hearted apology. The guard shook a fist towards Dave grumbling. "One of these days you to will become a believer, one of these days…"

"Can we talk to someone sane around here?" Simmons interjected fed up with the hold up. Dave approached the trio. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Finally," Simmons felt relieved to be able to complete their task and go back to the comforting recesses of his room. Sarge stepped forward and asked. "Where is your base leader son?"

"Follow me," Dave led the way to the building that stood out the most. From the rather unique decoration, they could tell that their leader was quite different himself. "Sir, we have visitors wishing to speak with you. I think they are with the red army. Either that or they are blues disguised as red soldiers in which case more live stock for your laboratory I suppose. Oh, look at those scissors…my, my."

 _Live stock?_ The trio pondered with chills going up their skin. They all saw the man in white coat who wore armor underneath turn around with a joyous grunt. "Gentlemen, BEHOLD! More people volunteering for my dissections. How thrilling, let's get you all to sign a waiver form first then I shall have you all wait together on the table."

"Wow I think you have the wrong idea there Dr. Scissors," Grif noted hiding behind Simmons. "I like my fat to stay where it is thank you."

"Then why are you here?" asked Dr. Scissors. "Could it be to observe and patent my latest invention that makes people invisible?"

"Invisible, can't we already do that with technology?" Sarge inquired. Simmons clarified. "Well sir, technically we are bending light so that the naked eye can't see us anymore."

"Follow me gentlemen!"

The trio walked up to an unmarked grave where a single finger stuck out from. Dr. Scissors turned around and held out his chest. "Behold for I have succeeded in making Private Dick invisible!"

"But isn't he just buried?" Grif pointed to the ground. "We can clearly see his finger sticking out."

"Why whatever do you mean?" Dr. Scissors looked everywhere but the ground. "Do you mean to call me a liar orange gentleman?"

"Okay, we are getting nowhere like this," Simmons in frustration finally broke and said. "Listen, we are here to recruit your base, although I say that with some caution now, for a large scale mission taking place on Earth."

"Ooohhmmm, to experience the harsh coldness of space exercising its right upon my body," Dave shook with ecstasy. "Such cruel pleasure…uuummmph."

"Wait, what?"Grif turned and looked at Dave with wide eyes and nearly lost it. "Damn it Dave, I thought that at least you were normal! Turns out you are a pervert."

"Oh please talk more to me in this manner," he replied squeezing his legs together and holding his hands over his crotch. "For your words pierce me like the bitter sweet thrusts of love."

"I think the correct term here is masochist," Simmons whispered to his friend as the trio backed off a little in fear of catching the disease. Sarge kept his shotgun close in case they needed to enact the 'GTFO' protocol. "So are you guys going to help us or not?"

"Gentlemen, one does not simply ask the 'Rock' for help!" Dr. Scissors replied holding his arms up in superiority. "One must first defeat him with a Piledriver!"

"Oh I bet you would like to drive something into me," Dave answered with pleasure stemming from his butt. "Such exquisite experiences that would grant this humble soldier, and ease his loneliness...umph!"

"Hm, this isn't working," Sarge looked to his two companions. "Any ideas?"

"Let me try something," Grif got Dr. Scissors' attention. "Hey doc, there are loads of people on Earth ready to sign up for your experiments. But the problem is, they can't come over here so you will have to go there yourself. I mean just imagine the hundreds of people willingly ready to sign the waiver forms."

"Well why didn't you say so earlier?" Dr. Scissors motioned for his men to gather. "Gentlemen, pack your shit for we are going on a trip of joy!"

"Like with taking ecstasy?" one soldier inquired. Dr. Scissors shook his head. "No, even better. A trip into outer space, and then to get me an early Christmas present!"

The trio could hear sad moans from the crowd. Grif shouted. "Oh for crying out loud, you will get your ecstasy someday, now stop grunting and move those legs like you mean it people!"

"Wow," Sarge and Simmons spoke in unison. Simmons crossed his arms and with a titled head studying his friend he said. "That was kind of out of character for you."

"Simmons, there is only so much I can take before my cravings start to control me," Grif checked the time. "Speaking of which, it is time for my afternoon snack."

"Of course, classic Grif," Simmons nodded his head departing back to the meet up point with their teams. To take additional precautions, it was agreed that the red and the blue teams will be delivered to the ship separately for now. Wash exited the Pelican back on the UNSC ship and approached Muffins. "So where are those extra ships we asked for?"

"On their way, they should be here soon. Until then we play the waiting game."

"Oh I love that game!" Donut shouted from behind. "Maybe we can play some hide and seek to kill the time with as well."

"Oh, you are all so going down!" Caboose answered in an innocent yet very competitive voice.

* * *

Inside an apartment complex, two women worked and chatted together to wash their dishes after dinner. His eyes studied them both with sweet nostalgia echoing itself from his brain. The older woman listened happily to her daughter who discussed the school day. Siris sat on the rooftop of the building opposite from the apartment. He looked down at his marriage ring and gripped it tightly into his hand.

"Honey," the mother called out and Siris jerked his head upwards. But that was not meant for him, it was the daughter she called out to and instructed her to get the large cardboard box on their balcony. Siris leaned over the edge just as she stepped out as if with one more step he could reach her. But that one step was in fact many, a distance of gravity that kept them apart.

She picked up the large box now obstructing his view and walked back inside. Siris sat back slamming the rooftop. _I can go there, I know I can. But that promise to her is keeping me away, why?!_ He looked at his ex-wife and remembered the glimmer of spark the two first felt upon their initial meeting. _She wore a silky red one piece dress on that day if I remember correctly_. The flashes of their youth bring about clarity. _Yes, it was a one piece red dress. It was in a local park that we first met when I was going home from turning in a bounty, and you were stuck having troubles with a broken shoe_. Siris smiled at seeing those pairs of shoes still kept so carefully by her as display pieces. _I suppose our time means something to you as well_.

Siris rested his body's weight against his palms pressing against the ground and breathed the cold air in deeply. _At that time, I repairing your shoes was nothing more than an act of kindness. But to think that you would be the one to approach me again, and flick down the domino that began to intertwine our lives together_. Siris saw the fog that escaped his mouth leaving him dry for air. _But I guess life cannot always go up. Like a roller coaster it has to go down as well_. He stretched his neck and stood up. Siris stared intensely at his wife and daughter and gritted his teeth. _If only life didn't have to go down_.

"I have stayed away and watched from afar for so many years," Siris whispered watching his young daughter. He held out a small birthday card. "I can't even give this to you face to face."

He eyed the apartment above his ex-wife's and saw that the lights were out. Siris took a huge leap and with the help of the jets attached to his armor, he landed firmly and quietly on the balcony above. He attached a rope to the balcony's rails and slowly descended to the level below. He took out the card in a protective casing and stuck it to the glass door. "Happy birthday, baby girl…"

He immediately left as soon as he gazed his ex-wife slowly turning to look out the balcony. Siris was quick to make his escape and saw his daughter reaching out towards his card. But before he could see her reaction, she turned to go back inside. His face felt heavier than usual. The anxiety weighed heavily on his mind. _I hope you continue to grow up happily_. Siris left without delay back to their base.

* * *

Carolina dragged up the bags from the base as Ken readied their location data. Chloe came around from the garage with their vehicle and helped the two load the bags into the back. Church stared at the gear and asked. "Wow guys, I don't think we have enough guns. Are you going to take on an army or something?"

"Never hurts to be prepared," Answered Ken as he stashed the last of the bags in the back. Siris came to a halt upon noticing the ATSG vehicle ready to depart. He exited his car and nodded to the trio. "I see you are all ready to go."

"Yes," Chloe answered. Siris held up a firm handshake for all three of them. The two women took it with respect and pride, and thanked him for his wishes. Ken looked into Siris' eyes without moving, only when Siris retreated his hand in failure, he was stopped. "Listen Siris, when we get back, I think there is a long overdue talk we need to have."

Siris looked back in surprise. _Perhaps it is time we have that talk_. He smiled and nodded his head. "I will be looking forward to it."

Chloe smiled proudly to Ken happy to see him take the first step towards repairing the damage between the two of them. Ken boarded the car last and Chloe started up the engine. "Everyone got what they need?"

She was given the thumbs up. She switched gears and began driving away after waving back one last time to Siris. He looked down at his hand and nodded in absolution. _Maybe right now I can't do anything about my daughter, but I can try doing something about Ken_.

* * *

 **A/N: Bet some of you didn't see Miller coming back from Rat's nest did you? Although I did technically use him for a laugh, but I hope it was still worth it as the appearance of those from Rat's Nest was requested.**

 **Also, not every recruitment will be comical in nature barring maybe the next one as well. It will definitely eventually go into the serious territory, but hey, why not have fun with it while we can right? :)**

 **This is one of those chapters where I actually thought about the type of setup for the jokes, so feedback on that will be good to, just to see what type of responses it got out of the readers.**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated :).**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support this story!**

 **~ Monty**


	5. Encounter

**Chapter 4: Encounter**

"In recent news the authorities have yet to disclose any information regarding their progress into the nuclear theft taking place across the country. Many have come to speculate that this is the act of the terrorist group targeting the space exploration and expansion businesses. Several media organizations have pressed the relevant authorities for answers, however have failed to obtain any useful in-"

Ken changed the radio stations in frustration as he drove on the thinly layered snowy road. "Why don't you tell us something new for once?"

"I'm guessing those authorities the newscaster mentioned was us?" Carolina pondered and received a clear nod from Chloe. She tuned the radio to another station that played one of her favorite songs. "Unfortunately we are not allowed to reveal anything to the public. The cops would be kept away from this case as well. Any and all investigations done into these cases would be by the government security agencies."

"Honestly, I still think it's retarded how the government chooses to keep you guys a secret," Church noted. "You know, rather than actually try and convince the people of how it is an advantage to have agencies like the ATSG around."

"Word," Ken replied switching stations as soon as the song finished. "So, any requests or favorites?"

"How about Pop?" Chloe switched the radio over to the proper station. Ken nearly lost control of the car as his annoyance level arose. "Any other suggestions?"

"Metal rock?" Carolina said noting how it was her favorite genre, only second to alternative rock. Ken tried the suggestions but quickly found himself running several executive interventions. "Remember, I'm the driver so I have the power of veto."

"That sounds like a jerkish move," Church appeared on his right shoulder. Ken nodded his head with a wide grin. "And you good sir would be right, but Imma still doing it."

He switched the station over to classical music. Chloe immediately covered her ears and screamed as Beethoven's piano piece started. "Oh god, turn it off! The relics of the past come to haunt me with their old people smell!"

"Very mature," Ken noted sarcastically. "Especially for someone who is able to normally keep a cool head."

"I'm only human to, now turn it off!"

"Nah," Ken smirked like the devil. "I think I like the tune of this song."

"What you like the tune of most is my agony," Chloe frowned. "Don't you?"

"Hmm…maybe."

"Oh, will you two just get a room already?" Church inquired nearly feeling the need to gag. Ken looked to the fragment and instantly replied. "We are not like that Church. Just a little teasing is all."

"Y- Yeah," Chloe answered trying to crack a smile in the spirit of good fun. _Yeah, we are not like that_. She looked out the car window. Ken took notice of how the music stopped bothering her. He switched the station to country. She glared at him. _Oh you know me so well_. She reached for the radio in an attempt to shut it off, but he simply deflected it with a playful grin on his face. Chloe tried again only to have her efforts be foiled again. "Oh you are so dead Mister!"

"I love you to Chloe."

"Don't go around throwing those words so easily," she quickly responded turning her head away. Ken eyed her from the side of his right eye. _What has gotten into her today?_ He turned off the radio as the trio was unable to come to a decision. "What's gotten into you Chloe?"

"Unlike you, I think those words still hold special meaning," she argued while sitting back in her chair. Ken shook his head and said. "So basically no joking about it then. Don't get so worked up about it, after all you are still special to me. I mean who else has always stuck by my side, especially since childhood?"

She nearly broke out into a gleeful smile. She spoke while avoiding specific details. "You will always have people who consider you to be very important as well Ken."

He looked at her with some hesitation. "I doubt that."

"You don't mean that," Chloe crossed her arms and stared at the driver. "Like you said so yourself, ever since childhood we have been together. Don't you think that accounts for something to the both of us?"

"I…suppose."

"Ken," her voice turned very serious prompting Ken to look into her eyes. "I know how serious you are about Aria. But I also know how brash you can get, so please promise me that you won't do anything stupid to get your sister back."

Chloe held up her pinky finger surprising Ken. "Are we really doing this?"

"Come on, do you promise or not?"

"Fine," he looked at her and back to the road while intertwining their pinkies together. As she loosened her grip, he felt a little relieved from being able to use his other hand once again. His heartbeat was strangely fast as well, he was thankful for the now lack of skin contact as it calmed down. _Strange_. But instead he focused on the mission at hand now. "Hey Church, how far off are we?"

"We are not there yet, it will take time."

"Can you give me an approximate at least?"

"No can do," he replied since the connection in the area they were driving was weak. "I need to be able to connect to the satellites in order to make accurate estimations."

"Try throwing a wild figure out there."

"As unconventional as it maybe for an AI and its fragments to guess without data," he explained while appearing beside the young assassin. "I would say with nominal road conditions, about two days."

"Lovely," Ken looked to his partners. "I guess we will have to switch out at certain points. You two should get some sleep while you can. Who will go first?"

"I will," Chloe volunteered rising her hand. The others had no qualms with this choice. Ken looked at the two passengers and said. "So the order will go as, first me, then Chloe followed up by Carolina, and then it will go back to me again repeating the cycle. Does that sound good?"

The two women nodded their head while Ken acknowledged the final decision. "I will wake you up in a couple of hours Chloe, so get your rest."

"Yeah," she replied leaning against the car's door window and closing shut her eyes. Ken noticed Carolina removing her helmet and going to sleep as well. He was now completely focused on driving.

* * *

Grif walked with an army of red soldiers following behind him. He commanded them to crouch, and they would crouch. He would command them to stand on one leg, and they would stand on one leg. He would command them to get on all fours and act as a seat and they would do so without complaints. _Ah, it feels good to be in charge_. Grif continued until he faced Simmons. "What's up dude? Have you checked out my wicked army yet?"

"Wait, aren't those all the reds from the first planet we recruited on?"

"Yeah, and it's awesome."

"How did you ever convince Dr. Scissors to even let you be their commander?"

"Well you see," Grif averted his eyes. "That's a long story, it all began with…"

* * *

Dr. Scissors stood outside his room and stuck up an inviting sign to all those who pass by. The sign read, 'Come one, and come all for Dr. Scissors' special experiments. Be a part of the future, be a part of the legend!'

He stepped back upon sticking the sign to the wall and smiled. _Amazing_. Grif walked lazily towards the mad scientist red leader and took one look at the sign and was quick to avert his route. _Nope. Not dealing with this shit_. But then he had an idea. _Although I can make use of this opportunity_. "Hey Dr. Scissors, I need to talk to you."

"Oh if it isn't the Orange gentleman, what would you like to discuss?" The red leader took out a pair of surgical knives. "Perhaps we can do this on my surgery table?"

Grif drew his sword out. "You try anything and you can say goodbye to your 'medical' career."

"Fair enough."

"So I was thinking that you should totally give me control of your army."

"Why would I do that?"

"Um…because I could give you nachos and cheese?"

"Can I operate on those?"

"Then how about I give you Simmons?"

"Oh, and how will you get him here?"

"Meh, simple," Grif answered with the shake of his shoulders. "You should see how gullible he is. One time I told him on our trip to Space Vegas that there was this hot new tech waiting for him in our hotel room to get down and dirty. He believed me without question, but I told him that it seemed suspicious like it could blow up at any moment from a bad touch, so he should totally leave the wallet with me just in case we needed it for identification in the 'aftermath'. Man that was one hell of a night out."

Dr. Scissors pondered the proposition over. _All he needs is one more push_. Grif cleared his throat and added. "Plus, in case you didn't know. Simmons is an android. He has technological organs which I'm sure would be interesting to dissect and study."

Dr. Scissors looked Grif straight in the visor, took his hand and proclaimed. "Deal!"

* * *

"…And that is how I made that brilliant deal with him," Grif smiled happily underneath the helmet while Simmons shook in his boots. "You idiot, I never said you could use me for your stupid antics."

"Come on, it's not like its hurting anyone. Well maybe except for when you get to the operating table, but other than that, no one else is getting hurt."

Simmons face palmed his visor. "Of all the stupid things you have done, did it never occur to you how I may feel about having my organs dissected? Trust me, it won't be a pleasant feeling."

"Meh, not my problem," Grif motioned for one of his soldiers to fetch the beef jerky Bitters was chewing in the distance. Bitters came chasing after just as Grif stuck it under helmet. "Om nom, nom, nom, delicious beef jerky."

"Wah, my beef jerky! Give it back!" the beast in Bitters began to awaken. "No one messes with my food and expects to get away with it!"

Bitters raised his fists. Grif looked to his left. "Dave, you know what to do."

"Oh my yes of course," Dave replied in a sly and playful voice as he stood in between Grif and Bitters and took the punches straight to the crotch. "Ah, so much pain…so much joy. Please feed me with more delicacy of this nature!"

"So it turns out there is a use for this pervert after all," said Grif gulping down the last of the beef jerky. All the while Matthews watched the whole situation play out from afar thinking, _I don't even know what is going on anymore_. Matthews stepped in before Dave received another one to the nuts. "Okay, break it up guys."

Strangely enough, Dave seemed both disappointed and distraught by the intervention. He earned an unwelcomed glare from the masochist red soldier who limped away holding his crotch and whispering. "Ooohhh so much pleasure."

"Grif," Matthews turned to face his once superior officer. "You have clearly got an ego problem."

"Ego problem, what makes you say that?!"

Matthews pointed to the beef jerky in Grif's hand and pointed back to Bitter. "So, want to explain this then?"

"Um yeah, it's called being amazing."

"More like a bully," Matthews clarified. "I think we all need to sit down and work this problem out together."

"Shouldn't that be Doc's line?" Grif asked stuffing another jerky into his mouth. "Anyways, I can do whatever I want!"

"Not if it hurts others."

"Just shut up Matthews," Grif retorted walking away as the rest of his army followed after him.

* * *

Aria looked out of the Pelican's window and noticed the landing pad approaching. The pilot asked for everyone to strap in for the final stretch of the flight. They activated the landing gears and lined up with the landing area. Slowly they adjusted the trajectory, and approached decreasing the speed. The landing crew prepared to lock down the ship as soon as it landed with a gentle bump. The pilot looked back to their passengers and gave a thumb up. One of the guards stood up and opened the door. He made sure that the factory was ready for Aria. "This way ma'am."

She followed behind her guards who made sure a way was opened up for her. From a distance, the trio from the ATSG spied on their target.

"Looks like the bird is in the nest," whispered Chloe. Ken agreed feeling his heart beat loudly. _You are so close now_. He tightened his grip on the binoculars and zoomed in to Aria's face. _You look almost exactly the same as when I last saw you_. He stood up alongside the two ladies and motioned for them to move. "Let's do this as quietly as possible. Remember to keep the chatter down, that means you Church."

"Oh jeez, yeah thanks for singling me out there," Church answered sarcastically. "I so very much appreciate it…bro."

Ken nearly broke out into laughter, but quickly placed a hand over his mouth to keep it from loudening. He approached the front gates of the facility and hid behind a corner. The guards were none the wiser. He activated his gauntlet computer and accessed the hacking app. Chloe loaded her sniper rifle with sleeping darts and attached a silencer to the barrel. _Okay, time to do this just like whacking the moles_. She perfectly aimed and fired at her targets who quickly fell asleep. Chloe hastened to hide the bodies and entered through an extremely lightly guarded back door. Carolina took the more direct approach and jumped straight into the fray. Before the guards got an opportunity to fire their guns or call for backup, she disarmed them and smashed their radios. Without hesitation or fear of injury, she let the armor's shield absorb most of the shock from the punches and smashed their noses, broke their kneecaps and knocked them unconscious.

Ken finished inputting the last bit of code that hacked the base security and granted him access to certain features. Using his new found powers, Ken opened up a nearby vent door and crawled through the long tube. He came out in production area where major components of the weapons were produced. _Hello, one could certainly get up to a lot of trouble here_. Ken reached into the small satchel and took out a few C4 charges. He placed them at the most fragile structural points.

Carolina exited behind Aria's group and quickly hid. She peeked out to study their numbers and was quickly discouraged. _Even for me that's asking for too much_. Church became curious at the notion of her admitting defeat before even trying. _I think that's the first time you have admitted defeat like this_. Carolina moved in the shadows. _I have done it before. It's just that you weren't there_. Carolina radioed in to her teammates and whispered. "I have Aria in my sights. Come to my position ASAP."

* * *

"On my way," Chloe answered jumping down from a vent. Ken finished setting up the charges around the various parts of the factory and made his way to Carolina's position. The trio observed the Cradle of Hope leader take center stage to what looked like a video recording session. Aria stood in front of a camera with a well lit industrial background, and her hair brushed back to give a better look to her face. "My dear 'Cradle of Hope' members, you may know me to be the leader of this revolutionary organization. For those who don't know me, my name is Aria."

"What is she doing?" Chloe looked to her comrades. Carolina in the middle turned to Chloe and answered. "She might be making a recording for her troops."

"I was recently awoken from stasis sleep as per the grand plan."

"Grand plan?" Carolina whispered. Ken gritted his teeth. _No, don't do this_. He was quickly finding that her beliefs in the organization were deeply rooted. Aria looked behind her and back at the camera pondering over her words. "The time to enact that grand plan is now. Take heart for a revolution will finally take place. Ever since the conception of our organization, we have evolved and changed to better respond to the vices of humanity."

The trio looked with intrigue as to where this speech was going to go now. Aria held her hands together behind her back authoritatively. "That change is something that will shake the very foundations of humanity. We will gather together, fight together, and march together like brother in arms to take control of the American streets. Why America some of you may ask."

Aria paused to let her words sink into the viewers. "The reason we picked America is because they are in a political bind so to say. But unlike other countries, they are weak in terms of resistance. We have the numbers and the force. We have the necessary ingredients for our victory. The reason we picked America is due to the simplicity in a takeover, United States of America also still maintains its position as the strongest nation in the world in terms of military power."

Aria lowered her head and said. "This of course means that the military may very well react against us, but it also means that they risk sacrificing quite a bit by disobeying direct orders from the President to keep the fighting away. Please my fellow men and women, this is our time, our chance to rise up and fight for a new, and better world order."

The soldiers behind the camera all cheered adding in a natural background sound effect. Aria stared deep into the camera's lens and said. "Every soldier, whether that be on Earth or in Space who have been waiting quietly and patiently, please rise up with us!"

The soldiers cheered again. In the midst of this chaos, Ken felt his grip loosening. He could feel Aria away only at an arm's length, but the distance seemed to grow over and over again. He held back the urges, but they seemed to be winning. Carolina held his left hand to help soothe him, but this only further agitated his heart and mind. Carolina gently knocked on their heads. "I'm going up ahead. You two find a way to outsmart her for capture."

Ken and Chloe moved in the shadows and whatever resistance they encountered, they handled quietly and quickly. To their surprise, the resistance was strong, but the element of surprise served them well. He looked over the railings to a small bridge he tailed Aria over and saw large conveyer belts carrying several parts. By the belts were kids inspecting for quality assurance. Ken's eyes widened as he stared back to Aria and then to the kids again. All of them stopped doing what they were doing as soon as they took notice of Aria and saluted her in respect. Aria made sure to smile and praise them all for their hard work. _The kids seem to look up to her. But why would you be recruiting kids? Even for you this would be depraved_. Ken was ready to jump down and dismantle everything here. But he had to keep a cool head.

 _Why hasn't anyone noticed or ratted out on this factory yet?_ Ken pondered moving to the other side of the bridge and slowly walking down the stairs. _They all seem so nonchalant about operating in broad daylight, where they can so easily be spotted by satellite imagining_. He dragged two soldiers into the shadow and introduced them to his fists. _The only explanation would be that they have some sort of safety net, perhaps they are linked to powerful politicians or other forms of authority_.

* * *

Aria walked out into a larger area. Ken saw an opportunity as there were less guards here, and more flanking positions. He took out his pistol to eliminate the resistance. From the shadows he fires several shots of sleeping darts, each hitting its target out of sight from one another. Aria's guards are quick to take notice of the descending malice upon them. Chloe and Carolina did their best to aid Ken. But he found his position quickly given away as one of the guards tracked the darts back to the originating point. Ken took out his pistol and opened fire.

Aria ran for cover with her guards. Chloe and Carolina switched to their assault weapons and took out several soldiers. The enemy soldiers gathered to protect Aria. One, young and brave soldier opened fire towards Ken, but with a well placed shot from the young assassin the soldier was down on the ground, holding his leg in pain and trying to stop the bleeding. Aria took the risk and stepped out into the gun fire. Ken froze just before pulling the trigger. _Dammit, is she insane putting herself in danger like that?_

Aria held the young soldier by his arms and dragged him back behind cover. "You are going to be alright, do you hear me?"

She held his leg down for him. He looked up at her and apologized. "Forgive me for becoming a liability."

"Don't be ridiculous," she tightened her grip on his wound. "I'm proud and blessed to have such brave soldiers willing to fight for our beliefs. Just stay with me, I want you to be there with us in that new world we create."

"Ma'am, we can't let you stay here!" A soldier from behind them shouted. Another agreed. The guards were compelled to agree. "Your safety is most important here."

"But I can't leave these people be, especially the children!"

"We will make sure they are seen to safety," another soldier approached the group. "But if we lose you, it's all over."

"Please, go," begged the wounded soldier. Aria looked at all the stares cornering her to the only option now visible. "…Fine, I will go. But make sure that all the wounded are sent to the medi-bay and that the children are seen to safety."

As she started to crawl away with her guards, she looked back and said with conviction. "Eliminate the intruders, there should be nothing left of them."

* * *

Ken gave chase against Chloe's and Carolina's orders. He shot his way through the enemy to the heli-pad where he was stopped by a wall of soldiers. He hid behind a metal crate, activated a grenade and flung it towards them. The enemy dispersed onto the ground, many suffered casualties. Many lost limbs and many found their blood smeared onto the heli-pad. Aria looked back in contempt as the young assassin stepped out screaming her name. "Aria, sister it's me, your younger brother!"

Ken threw away his weapon and raised his arms. Her eyes softened as he pulled down his hood. But her eyes quickly widened at the lie. Her soft expression turned to that of anger. "I have no brother."

 _What?!_ Ken was frozen still at the words. _What is that supposed to mean? Does she not recognize my voice?_ He watched her board the plane. But before the doors closed, he held out an arm for her and managed to throw a tracker through to Aria's armor in time. "Please wait! I can show you that I'm your brother, sister!"

The Pelican rose into the air and turned to face Ken. A small mini-gun placement at the bottom of the nose rotated to target Ken. He took a deep breath and jumped to the bottom of the platform behind cover. The pilot opened fire spraying the area around Ken and kept his backup away from reaching him. The Pelican was quickly rising into the air and out of sight. _Sister…_ , Ken stood up and watched the bird slowly disappear from his vision. He clenched his fist and raises the right gauntlet. He activated the real time map data and noticed the active tracker. He looked back up to the sky and swore. _The next time we meet, you will recognize me_.

"Oh boy do I have a piece of my mind to give to you," Chloe spoke in a very stern voice. Ken looked silently at the two women and took out a remote detonator. "Church, where is the closest fire alarm?"

"I have marked it on your map."

* * *

"Thanks," Ken rushed to the location, activated the fire alarm and used the chaos to ensure a smooth escape for the three. As they retreated to their vehicle, Chloe stopped Ken in his tracks and pushed him against the car. "What was that about promising not to do anything brash?"

He looked down at the ground like a guilty child. Chloe pointed a finger at his chest and said. "You are lucky that you didn't get shot or worse, die. Do you realize how stupid it was of you to go head first into the enemy's line of fire like that?"

"It couldn't be helped."

"Couldn't be helped?" Chloe laughed at the words. "There will always be other opportunities, but if you are dead then think about what type of effect that would have on the people around you. Think about Siris, those in the ATSG who look up to you, think about me. If not for us, then think about your sister."

Ken remained quiet, letting her vent out her disappointment. "Don't make promises you can't keep!"

Carolina watched the two from the back of the car as an awkward silence befell the group. _That went well_ , Church discussed with Carolina. She was inclined to agree with Chloe on the points raised. None of this would be worth it if Ken goes on this self-destructive path. Ken activated the gauntlet and showed the tracker to others. "I placed a tracker on her, so this wasn't all for nothing. I'm sorry I broke my promise Chloe, but things worked out fine in the end didn't it?"

"And what if they hadn't?"

"Either way," Carolina stepped in between them before this argument continued anymore. "At least we got something out of this mission. I see you pulled the same move with her that you did with me. Nice job."

* * *

Warp gates tore open the fabric of space. Through the worm holes exited two UNSC ships, all outfitted with a skeleton crew. The ships parked beside Muffins' ship and opened communication. Their backup was finally here. In the hanger, the reds and the blues met for the first time since boarding this vessel. Both sides looked at one another confused and with malice. "What is a dirty red doing here?"

"Talk more to me like that, ohmp!" Dave squealed in pleasure before he was slapped by one of his friends. "Don't thank him, he was mocking you."

"I know…so good."

Both sides drew their weapon and alerted the ex-Freelancer. "Woah, woah, calm down guys. We knew you would react like this that's why we didn't let you meet one another all this time. But now you guys are fighting on the same side."

"The red side or the blue side?" asked a blue soldier.

"Umm, the white side?" Wash answered with uncertainty and looked to his left for help. The others looked at one another dumbly as the soldiers were once again to open fire on one another. Grif stepped forward in an authoritative stance. "Okay that's it, listen up you maggots!"

The reds froze in place and nearly all dropped their weapons. Some even felt their bladder control loosen. Matthews shook his head. _Here we go again_. Grif crossed his arms and walked back and forth between the two groups. "You all fight for the same goal now so learn to play nice. If you would like, we can get you doll houses, pretty pink dresses and cookies to get you all to play together!"

"Umm, what?" asked both Simmons and the blue soldiers. Grif turned to both sides and said. "So pull up those panties and get on those ships. Any news of conflict breaking out will be met with a swift punishment. That punishment will be cleaning every inch of the ships, including the toilets with a toothbrush, especially the toilet I use."

The reds shut up and blues took a hint to do so as well. Matthews had it with Grif's egotistical and controlling attitude towards others, even those who followed him. He stepped forward up to the plate staring Grif visor to visor. "Grif, ever since we got the new group of reds on board, you have been nothing but egotistical, selfish and a bully! You clearly need to step back and take a look at your issues and how it affects others that your ego is creating!"

Grif stared at him silently. The surprise was well hidden behind the visor, but so was the growing irritation. "You know what Matthews? Shut the fuck up!"

The whole room went quiet at the sudden outburst. Grif stepped up to Matthews and declared. "All you ever do is talk about how we need to be positive and shit, and encourage one another. Well you know what? All of that is shit without action. You are so useless, that even the air I breathe is more useful and at least fulfills its purpose!"

Matthews felt the sharp stings of his words pierce him through his heart. The watery build up in his eyes began to blur his vision. Everyone in the room silently stared at the floor. Matthews' mouth quivered and his resolve to fix Grif's ego issues slowly deteriorated. His head fell down to the ground as a single tear rolled down his cheek, but soaked into the helmet's soft padding. With a low head of defeat, he turned and left the area. Tucker looked at the closing door and back to Grif. "Wow dude, even for you that was a dick move."

* * *

The trio stood before Siris who wore a very disappointed and weary expression. He turned to lean against the computer desk and let out a tired sigh. _This will no doubt mean more budget cuts and downsizing for us_. Ken stepped forward to say something, but he was quickly interrupted by Siris. "I'm very disappointed in the results you three have presented."

"Even with the small victory where we planted a live tracker on Aria?" Ken asked confident that surely not all of this was a failure. Siris was inclined to agree with the sentiment. "You are right, not all was a loss. At least you three managed to do something helpful."

Ken glared at him only to receive an equally dangerous glare back at him. Chloe slowly tugged Ken back into the line and respectfully waited for Siris to continue. Siris pointed to the tracker's location and said. "I hope this won't provoke any rash actions from anyone here."

The three remained quiet holding no protest for him. He slowly eyed them all, but fixated his gaze on Ken the longest. With a soft whisper he said. "Good."

Siris waved the three away, but before they could leave, he parted them with words that seemed to grow the rift of professional distrust between Ken and Siris. "I will handle everything from here on out. You three will be kept on a need to know basis regarding Aria."

"What?!" Ken turned to stomp towards Siris, but was stopped by Chloe's tight grip on his hand. He gritted his teeth and pushed past Carolina out into the hallway. Chloe quickly followed and stopped him by the gentle grip on his hand. "Ken, please listen to me. Right now is not really the best time to talk to Siris about this. You already know the stress and pressure he is under. Give it some time, let him cool down and then talk about it."

Ken shoved past her and walked away activating his gauntlet. He saw the live beeping red spot on the city map. _To think that you were hiding in this city all along_. Ken stopped to measure the distance between Aria's general area and his own. _I can no longer rely on the ATSG for help with my sister. I will have to take things into my own hands_.

* * *

 **A/N: That was a close encounter between Aria and Ken, wasn't it?**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

 **Thank you for your readership and support! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	6. That Talk

**Chapter 5: That Talk**

In brightly lit rooms, all around the world, the Cradle of Hope medical personnel walked around busy with their tasks. A group busied themselves by the cryo-stasis pods studying the various charts, information panels and overall health. Aria walked into one such room located in Africa. She greeted the many respectable salutes her way with an amicable smile. She walked up and smothered the pod, gently wiping away the thin layered ice. "How is he?"

"General Dallas' condition is stable ma'am."

"What about the others?"

The computer transmitting a live call to the other three locations replied. "They are all stable and ready for their awakening."

"Good, engage the process."

The men rated the highest in accordance with their work senior status initiated the process. Emergency teams stood by. Lights around the room spun in an orange hue. The room's white lights dimmed to allow power diversion to the pod. The alarms sung the tune of their awakening. The doors on the pod split apart and slid open. The inhabitants remained still as the thawing process took effect. Aria inched closer to the one she was at. The man inside the pod breathed deeply. His crusty eyes cracked open, and the stiff joints moved robotically. His blurry vision disabled his secure exit as he went stumbling down, only to be caught by Aria the last second. "Good morning, Dallas."

Dallas, one of the four Generals in charge of the forces for Cradle of Hope looked up to the familiar voice. As his eyes began to make more sense of his surroundings, he saw her familiar face. "Aria…how long was I out?"

"Eight years, just like me."

Dallas felt the chill of the room bring an uncomfortable sense of pain. Aria took a nearby blanket and wrapped it all around him. He thanked her and stood up with her support. The others all stopped in their tracks to see the rising of their General. _I really am awake_. He looked at her hand. Slowly with a reassuring grip, she retreated to see him stand on his own two legs. _I'm back. I'm still alive_. Aria smirked and handed him his uniform. "Welcome back to the world of the living."

"Good to be back," he replied with a smile. Quickly he changed into his uniform and approached the communication computer. On the screen, he saw the other Generals ready to communicate, although one still seemed more interested in sleeping rather than discussing business. Dallas rubbed his black beard and moustache. He scratched the back of his hair while staring down at the keyboard with his blue eyes. He looked back up and waved to the other three. "It's good to see you awake Kai, Irene and Kabira."

Kai punched his two fists together. Brushing back his short, well kept orange hair he smirked. Looking all around with his crimson eyes, he waved to the others. "Let's get this stuff out of the way, I am anxious to get back into the fray of things and smash some skulls."

Irene blew out a stray strand of light green hair reaching down to her chin. She yawned heavily feeling slight build up of water on her green eyes. "I was in the middle of a good dream. I want to go back to sleep."

Kabira brushed off Irene's statement as she fixed her red hair, and eyed the results with her red eyes perusing over every inch of the job. "You always want to go to sleep Irene. I say we show them all who is boss with an iron fist and an iron rule."

 _Well at least they haven't changed_ , thought Dallas as he stepped to the side. Aria took center stage and greeted her troops. "How are all of you, anyone feeling any side effects?"

They all reported as fine. She was glad to hear it. "Things have gotten bad, but still we are on track with our master plan."

"Define bad," Irene asked with an annoyed sigh. _That just means more work then_. She slumped back into the chair and waited for the answer. Aria crossed her hands and said. "The government agencies of United States of America, namely the ATSG as we understand it have been bent on picking off our bases one by one. They have already hit some big bases with success."

"All we need is to show them how outmatched they are, it will deter them," said Kabira. Kai was compelled to agree. "Why wait? Let's do it right now!"

"Don't be so hasty," Dallas interjected. "Just hear out our leader first."

"The reason I woke up all of you was to handle this threat. I need you four right now," Aria explained the situation in further detail. Every General listened carefully with respect and understanding. "We are so very close to fulfilling our goals of dominating America. At least that would just be the start to help reform the world. If we can't help change people, then we will just force change."

"I like the sound of that," noted Kabira pumping her fist in front of her. "Absolute authority."

"And going in to get shit done," said Kai with an energetic expression. Irene on the other hand was less than enthusiastic as she let out a simple, sarcastic moan. "Yay…"

"Alright, lock it down, all of you," Dallas interrupted into the camera's view. "We have a plan, we have the resources and most of all we have the conviction. We can do this."

"Agreed," Aria replied and saw a bow of loyalty from all of her generals. They all stated their oaths to her and the organization. One where they shall never betray, live for the organization and die for it. They will lead the troops through thick and thin, to the end of the dark tunnel where victory and domination lie in wait hand in hand. Aria told them to raise their heads and sat back in the chair. _Now, watch people of this planet as I shake the very foundations of your delicate and distorted society_.

The ground troops for the Cradle of Hope observed the video Aria recorded for them. They felt their hope return again. The cradle once again moved with time and the organization breathed anew. The energy in the troops was rising, it was sky high and shouts echoed in the skies. The revolution was coming. The troops were ready to take up arms once again. Those in hiding came out. They flooded the airports like any ordinary citizen. They boarded the flights, and little by little they went to America. The army was growing, and the time to retaliate by the opposition was decreasing.

The troopers looked out the plane window. They said good bye to their families who were none the wiser of their beliefs and activities. They prayed for their well being and success. Aria received confirmation of the very first batch arriving at their headquarters. With a light smile, she took in a deep breath. The chilly air shook her to her very core, refreshing her body. She stared back at the generals and said. "Let's make this an event to remember in the world history books."

* * *

In space, there was a scolding taking place on the main ship heading the army. Simmons gave it real good to Grif who simply stood there and listened without much care. Bitters approached the two shaking his head. "It's no good, he won't come out."

"What a shocker," Grif noted sarcastically further provoking the urge in Simmons to punch him. Tucker on the other hand was already bold enough to slap him on the back of Grif's helmet. "Dude, that is just insensitive."

"Jeez, okay, my bad," Grif rushed away from Tucker and looked at Bitters. "Can't we do anything to get him to come out?"

"Well John is trying everything he can," Bitters replied. "But other than that, I got nothing. If it were me in that room, I would try some food as a lure."

"No surprise there," said Simmons. He looked to his right and saw Doc. "Ah, when did you get here?"

"I have been standing here this whole time."

"Huh, strange how we never noticed," commented Tucker as the others agreed. "So, do you have any ideas Doc?"

"How about sitting down for a nice good old fashioned therapy session?" Upon the suggestion his alter personality quickly took over. "In which we stuff Grif inside my rocket launcher and then fire it at the room's door!"

"I prefer to keep my head in tact thanks."

"But it sure will be fun," noted Sarge approaching the group. Donut was right behind him and already aware of the situation. "How about giving him a motivational speech?"

"I can do that," agreed Sarge only to receive a condescending laugh from Grif. "A motivational speech from you? I'm sure it will be something like, dirty blues this, dirty blues that!"

"Says the guy who can't even go two hours without food," retorted Simmons with a wide grin. Grif clearly felt agitated by the words. "Hey, I take offense to that! It's not two hours, it's one hour and fifty minutes."

"You guys are idiots," Tucker bored and frustrated by the conversation turned to leave. He was quickly stopped by Grif's next statement however. "Says the guy who goes around having alien kids and incompetent at using his own sword."

"Hey, let's leave our _swords_ out of this," Tucker stepped toe to toe with Grif. "Junior has nothing to do with this either. Just admit your fault and own up Grif!"

"Even when all I did was speak my mind?"

"Yes," Simmons separated the two. "There are other ways of speaking your mind without coming off as a jackass you know."

"Ugh, Simmons, lay off," Grif shoved the maroon soldier away. "I don't need you getting all up in my grill about this anymore than you already have."

"You know," Bitters said silencing the whole group. "Matthews really looks up to you Grif. He never got depressed like this before, not even with when his critics would say harsh things about him as a motivational speaker. But with you, it's like you make up a part of his world, a very important part."

Palomo standing beside Bitters agreed. "Yeah, when everything seemed bleak on Chorus, all of you came back for us. You all gave us so much courage and showed us that everyone can be a hero in their own way."

"Yeah, you have all been quite important figures to us," continued Bitters. He turned to face Grif again. "But you have been the most central figure in Matthews' life ever since the Chorus civil war came to a turning point. To Matthews you represent an undeniable quality of courage. Because when things got bleak on Chorus, you guys could have abandoned us and left the planet. But you chose to stay. You chose to help us sacrificing your only chance at the time for freedom from the fighting. This to Matthews was an important experience which he took deeply to heart. Especially seeing you come back to fight the Mercenaries off Grif."

Grif looked all around and slowly lowered his head in thought. _I had that sort of an impact on someone?_ He pondered before again hearing Bitters continue. "This courage was what drove Matthews to try even harder and be better as an individual. He wanted to be that beacon of courage for others, whether that was through just words or action as well. This is the reason he became a motivational speaker, to help others like you helped him Grif."

 _Oh…_ , Grif lowered his head even further. A sharp stinging feeling arose, leaving him struggling between two sides. Both sides beckoned him as he sat on a thin fence constantly tilting from one side to the other. One side continued to encourage his selfish behavior, while the other urged guilt as a means of a learning experience. _To think that I would actually feel this way, I may as well have kept my mouth shut then_. The fence fell over, Grif found himself in the territory of guilt.

The orange soldier turned and left the area quietly. The others watched in curiosity as the door to Grif's room closed. Grif sat down on his bed and pulled out a bag of crispy chips from underneath the bed. He removed his helmet and stuffed his face. _What do I do now?_ With every crunch of the snack, he felt his hunger slowly quenching. He swallowed a hearty bunch and drank the remains in his mouth down with soda. _What will be my next course of action?_

* * *

Sherry and Ohio walked fondling one another's hands, as their fingers slithered in between one another's playfully. Under their helmets they knew the expression they both made. Through the armor, they could feel the skin contact as at their core they felt like one being. The two quickly separated though upon seeing some soldiers in the hallway intersection. To them, their relationship was sacred, and something to cherish as their own, not to show it off to others. Public affection was very limited, but in privacy there were no restraints, nothing to hold them back. They made a right turn towards the familiar smell of beer. Sherry shook her head with an agitated voice she amused Ohio. "Ugh, they are still at it. I wish those drunks would find something else to do already."

"What do you mean those drunks? Last I remember, you are quite the drinker yourself," Ohio joked leading the way to the bar. Sherry caught up slapping Ohio's butt when no one else was in the area. "Only when it leads to some interesting situations."

"Oh, I'm sure," giggled Ohio turning into the entrance to the ship's bar. She looked at the guys lazing around with a cup of beer in their hands. Ohio rested a hand on her hip and looked at Sherry. "So, what are we going to do with this bunch?"

"Hey, hey ladies!" shouted Terrill waving the glass mug around in the air. The others waved them over and poured a full glass of beer. Darryl slid it towards them both. "Drink up!"

"How about no?" Sherry slid the mugs back and blocked her ears to Ohio's whiny response. "You lot have been lounging around for too long, you guys need a new hobby."

Ohio received a punch to the ribs, quickly recomposing her attitude. "Right, Ow. We are here to straighten you guys out."

"What are we going to do Ohio?" asked Idaho. "Maybe we can go braid one another's hair."

The others laughed heartily, but the ladies found no amusement in his words. Ohio stepped closer with each footstep echoing louder. The men quickly quietened and felt their bodies stiffen from the overwhelming aura. She took off her helmet, swiped his mug and chugged the beer down. She slammed the mug down on the table and wiped her lips clean. "That's what I think about your crappy suggestion Idaho. Now let's get moving you lot."

"Where are we going?" questioned Iowa in his child like curious tone akin to Caboose's. The two women looked at one another and shook their shoulders. Sherry looked back and replied. "No idea."

"Really, you made us get up and walk with you to some where you don't even know about?" complained Terrill. Ohio glared at him quickly causing him to retreat behind Darryl. "Do you guys have anything better to be doing?"

The men remained quiet as the women spoke in unison. "That's what we thought."

Iowa spotted his new friend who was quickly on his way of becoming a best friend apart from Ohio and Idaho. "Caboose!"

"Ah, I didn't do it!" Caboose jumped in his spot nearly falling over. "I didn't do it good cop sir!"

The others stood in one spot as they watched Iowa and Caboose interact. "What are you talking about Caboose? What are you up to?"

"Eh, you ever have that dream that feels so real and you begin to confuse it with reality?"

"For Iowa," said Idaho. "I'm sure it's all the time man."

"What are you doing out here on your own?" asked Iowa.

"The others seem busy with their own thing, and I didn't have anyone else to talk with. So I was just taking Freckles out for his usual walk until we spotted this," Caboose held up a small critter immediately sending shivers through Sherry's body. She hid behind Ohio shouting. "Take it away, get it away from me! Burn it, kill it with fire!"

The others looked amused and Idaho asked. "You are a trained soldier who is able to fire their bullets at their enemy without a problem, whether it is with success or not is debatable. So how is it that you can't seem to handle little bugs like that?"

"Woah, woah, woah, we are trained soldiers?" inquired Terrill amassing intrigued stares his way. Darryl further backed his best friend up on the statement. "Yeah, we just showed up one day. They gave us the guns after signing up and told us to give it our A game. Then after I questioned about any training programs, they laughed and told me to piss off."

Sherry stuck her head out from the back and screamed. "Would you guys just get rid of it already?!"

"But I want to keep it as a pet!" Caboose moaned. "I will be sure to feed it, take it out for walks and play with it, an-"

Ohio walked close and squeezed Caboose's fingers holding the bug together. The single sound of its shell cracking sent a disturbing silence throughout the group. Iowa looked at Caboose, while he could not see his expression, the silence told him the disappointment and sadness the blue soldier experienced. The others rubbed their heads and looked at Ohio. "That was harsh."

"I know what will cheer you up Caboose," Iowa extended a hand. "How about hanging out with us for a while?"

"Can we stop by the cafeteria to get me some comfort snacks?"

"Sure, why not?" Idaho proposed. "I can use a bite to eat as well."

Caboose seemed to take the death very well all of a sudden. As the group quipped with one another, Sherry and Ohio always made sure to keep them all on task. They tried several things for a hobby like knitting, board games, video games, sports and working out in the gym. By the end, they were all exhausted and the guys were already feeling gravitated towards the bar. "I sure could go for a drink."

"Yeah, me to," agreed Darryl as he lied spread out on the floor. The women slowly stood up as they caught their breath. Ohio kicked Idaho on the leg. "Come on, this is why we were always made fun on in Project Freelancer. You guys need to get your shit together."

"Says the person just as tired as us," remarked Terrill. He quickly balled up as she began stomping towards him with a vein popping up on her forehead. "Why I oughta-"

"Just cool those jets there Ohio," Sherry stopped her in her tracks and leaned in close to her ear, saying something barely audible. "The guys are just too tired right now. Let's let them rest up a little."

"Then go for round two?"

"Maybe," Sherry smirked hearing the guys groan. Caboose strangely enough seemed fine though. No one could make sense of it. Idaho sat up and scanned the blue soldier's body. "Caboose, how is it that you are totally fine?"

"For some reason I don't get tired that easily, probably because I eat a lot of eggs. Too bad they are not dinosaur eggs," he replied in an innocent voice. "Plus, it was really fun!"

Iowa catching his breath agreed, but followed that up with coughs of a dying cat. He quickly excused himself to the corner of the room in embarrassment. Caboose looked at the two ladies who felt a little creeped out. Ohio and Sherry motioned to one another to ask, but Sherry took the initiative. "Um Caboose, why are you staring at us?"

"Just so you know, I am not into guys," Ohio said instantly backing off. Idaho groaned even more as he felt a sharp needle piercing his heart. "So we have heard many times."

"I was just thinking about how nice Sherry and Ohio are," Caboose answered in a daze. Both Sherry and Ohio felt a little touched and said. "That is probably the nicest thing someone has said to us in a long while."

"What about the times I said you are hot?" asked Idaho of Ohio.

"And the times we complimented your cooking?" asked Terrill and Darryl of Sherry.

"Yeah, but you know," Ohio began before looking to Sherry for support. "That's just you guys."

Sherry pointed a finger at Darryl. "And don't think about trying to weasel your way out of this one Darryl but I remember seeing you throwing up that food afterwards."

"That must have been a mirage."

"On a freaking ice planet?"

"Um…yes?"

Caboose hummed happily attracting attention. He continued with his shower of compliments. "Yeah, you two are so nice that you two kind of remind me of my mom. But you guys don't come with the repressed memories of me walking into my parents in the middle of the night having sex."

The whole room went silent. Even Iowa was stunned. The awkwardness settled in strong, covering them all with a thick blanket. Everyone looked at the ground trying to repress the images it created in their minds. Some even began having headaches trying to get it out. Some began rocking back and forth in their spot. Some simply felt the need to go and bonk their head against the wall to get it out. Nothing worked, it was in too deep and they couldn't get it out. Ohio and Sherry looked at one another feeling a shudder through their body. _I don't think we will be sleeping together tonight then_. But amidst this mental suffering, they all realized something important. They realized the significance of Ohio and Sherry to their group's unity. Had it never been for the two women, their groups may have been at each other's throat still on the ice planet. They would have never become friends able to laugh about things like this right now.

"But they are nice," Iowa agreed pointing out all the times Ohio helped stop him from blowing up their side of the base, even if some attempts ended in failure. He also pointed out at the times Sherry helped him with various tasks around the base when it was too much for him to do so by himself, which was nearly all the time. Idaho, Terrill and Darryl agreed as well. "Without them taking lead in bickering with one another, we may have had to do it ourselves. That would then mean less time for some nice cool drinks."

"And the mood's gone, thanks guys," sighed Sherry. Idaho stretched out his arms in clarification. "What? We are complimenting you two!"

"Yeah, and we do so with A grade effort!" added Terrill. Caboose quickly perked up at the mention of a grade. "There were grades being handed out here? Because if there are, I want an A+."

The group got a hearty laughter out of this. Ohio smacked Caboose's back and noted. "You know Caboose, you are one hilarious guy. Keep up your smooth talk and you will fit right on in with our gang."

"I love fitting in, especially in tight places," and the others looked at him blankly as he continued. "Because those places are always a challenge."

"This guy is a riot," Idaho laughed hysterically and looked to Iowa. "Good job inviting him on board."

Ohio smirked under the helmet and leaned in close. "So Caboose, how about a few more praises? You know, just for good measure to help give ma good night's sleep."

Sherry quickly bumped her in the ribs rather playfully. "That's rude behavior."

"Yeah, but you know you want to be complimented as well."

* * *

On Earth, inside the passive ATSG base, Ken stood alone in the dark hallway. He pondered of his words just before the entrance to the main room of the base. Siris looked at the monitors studying various reports and stretched his neck. He looked down at his prosthetic leg and wondered. _How long has it been since I forgot the feeling of my left foot?_ He tapped it against the floor. There was no feedback to his body, all he could do was see it touch the floor, but not feel it. The day he lost his left foot, he lost a part of himself, perhaps with that part a little courage abandoned him as well. _When did I grow to be such a coward?_ He pondered noticing the familiar presence by the entrance. _Such a simple little thing like a talk can be blown out of proportion by feelings seems so ridiculous, yet so human_. He turned the chair around to see Ken standing in the door frame. Siris simply nodded his head as the young assassin entered.

"I thought it would be best to have that long needed talk now," Ken suggested. Siris nodded his head. _The time did have to come for it after all_. He motioned towards a chair nearest to him with his eyes and Ken dragged it closer. He joined his two hands together with a tight grip, deep into contemplation. "I…I want to first say something here. To be honest, I was afraid of having this talk because…I didn't, and still don't know of what to say exactly. But add to that the fact that our relationship isn't exactly the best right now, I am afraid that this talk might strain it even further."

Siris smirked earning a rather contempt look from Ken. "Like mentor, like student. You know, I was afraid of the same things. And like you, I'm still afraid. Still, without sitting down to talk about it like we are now, we will never be able to move on and be forever stuck in a limbo as the distance only grows. We have to at least try right?"

Ken nodded as Siris said. "But even now I'm still scared. I'm petrified of what may happen, and this fear has kept me on the run from talking to you like this."

The two men looked around the room thinking about their next sentence. Ken rubbed his nose and noted. "I'm sorry about my rude behavior towards you all this time Siris, and thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything that you have done for me ever since you picked me off the streets. When my sister left, I didn't know what I could do. I was a wreck. I was at a loss and felt completely powerless. But you invited me to join the ATSG to do some good, trained me and made me into the warrior I'm today."

The words were full of sincerity and invoked pride in Siris. He was happy to see just how appreciative Ken was of his mentorship and the time spent together. But a feeling of guilt was present at the same time, and it always has been since Siris taught Ken from a young age. "Are you still thankful knowing that all of this that I taught you was just so you can kill people? I made you stain your hands in blood."

"You didn't make me stain my hands," Ken corrected. "That was the missions given to the ATSG. It's not like I had much of a choice anyways. What else could I have done at that time? I'm still glad even if my hands are dipped into a very deep pool of crimson red. Killing was my choice."

"Ken…I'm sorry to for keeping the truth from you," Siris bowed his head in front of him. "It was wrong of me, I knew it would hurt you and yet I still did it only thinking about completing the mission."

Ken remained quiet, averting his gaze still feeling little hints of anger in his mind. Siris raised his head and the two men were met with an awkward gaze. Siris looked back and forth from the ground to Ken. "So, what happens to us now, where do we go from here?"

"I suppose that is all up to us at the end of the day," Ken spoke adjusting himself in the seat. "How we recover from this, and what we do to maintain our perhaps a renewed sense of trust really depends on us. Unfortunately there is no magic powder that will make all our problems go away."

Siris laughed and agreed. Ken then quickly switched gears and wore a more serious expression. "Siris, I need to know if I am going to be on a need to know basis for my sister as well or not. I want to be kept in the loop."

Siris remained quiet prompting Ken to make an uncompromising stand. "I will get her back and I won't let the agendas of any organization get in the way."

Siris began to grow worried and asked. "What if she would…never want to come back?"

Ken was stunned at the question. His mind halted all thought process. There were no answers in there no matter how much he searched. He averted his gaze to the ground with a heavy expression and slowly stood up. Siris called out to him carefully, only to see the young assassin walk away. "Ken?"

 _What if she never wants to come back? Then what can I do?_ Ken wondered. He stepped out the door frame and rested against the wall. _Can I watch her die, or worse do the dirty deed myself as a form of mercy killing?_ Ken gritted his teeth and gripped his hair. _This is some fine mess my family got involved with. I wonder why my parents weren't content with an average family life just happy in one another's company_. Ken walked back to his room and lied down on his bed. He closed shut his eyes remembering the vivid imagery of his family out together on a picnic when he was very young. He remembered the smells of the park, the curiosity and happiness his sister displayed at playing with him, yet protected him whenever her nurturing instinct commanded. He remembered how his father would barbecue the meat to perfection releasing an odor of mouth watering juices. How their mother happily watched after him and his sister while setting up the tables, and occasionally becoming quite playful herself with the kids. _Those were good times, times which I wish we could freeze_. Ken looked at his hand and thought. _I almost had her back at the factory_. He tightened it into a fist. _I must do whatever I can to get her back_.

* * *

Grif stalked the hallways slowly inching towards Matthews' room. Andersmith, still busy trying to get him to come out noticed the orange soldier and instantly took on a more militaristic form out of respect. Grif looked at the door and back to the man before him. "Still not coming out?"

"Uh, no sir. I have been trying for three hours."

 _That's some dedication_ , Grif pondered in a humorously sarcastic manner. He knocked on the door once only to be replied with a silence. Andersmith pounded harder on the door. "Come on Matthews, open the door!"

"Its fine, I will handle it myself," Grif gently pulled Andersmith away and told him to go join the others. The Chorus soldier was concerned however for his friend. "Are you sure sir?"

"Yeah," Grif looked back at the door with a low voice and said. "I got this."

Andersmith decided to trust everything to Grif and went back to his friends. Grif again knocked gently on the door and this time followed it up with his voice. "Matthews, its Grif, open up."

The orange soldier backed up as he heard the locks disengaging, and the door swinging open. Grif could tell that Matthews had been sulking judging by the box of napkins and some still stuck under the helmet. Grif looked around and did his best to put on a light hearted voice. But no amount of effort could keep his regret from coming out. "Can I come inside?"

 _He is being awfully nice_ , pondered Matthews as he stepped to the side making way for Grif. The orange soldier closed the door behind him and looked at the dark corners of the room. It was a mess. Grif felt right at home in this environment. He kicked an empty can to the side of the room and sighed. "So I wanted to talk to you."

Matthews simply looked away into a corner. Grif sat down on the bed opposite to Matthews. "Look, I know what I said was wrong and I was being a dick. I was rude to you and my ego did get out of control like you said."

Matthews slowly started to look in Grif's direction, surprised at the confession. Grif pointed towards the door. "That gang that was following me around, I decided to let go of them. It wasn't doing me any good, and it certainly wasn't helping anyone else."

Grif rubbed his hands together and breathed onto them as his body felt chilly from the anxiety of this talk. "I hurt you and I'm s- s- so- sorr- bleh!"

"Are you alright?" Matthews finally talked. Grif held a thumb up looking away, disgusted by the smell. "Nothing, I'm fine. I just threw up a little in my helmet. I'm not used to doing this so yeah."

Grif took in a deep breath, did his best to avoid the smell and decided to straighten his form. _Gotta man up here Dexter Grif!_ He looked up at Matthews and said. "What I'm trying to do is apologize. I want to apologize for my uncalled for, jerk behavior."

Matthews nodded his head in appreciation of his efforts. "You know, you have always been a hero to me."

"I know, Bitters told me."

"But even heroes have their flaws," added Matthews. He with a smile spoke. "Those flaws are what make them so likeable and relatable. It is what makes them feel like genuine people."

Matthews looked into Grif's visor and said. "You aren't perfect, and you have a lot of flaws like your eating disorders, laziness, how you talk back to your superiors…"

Grif began to feel his heartbeat rise. _I didn't realize we were here to list my flaws_. He felt a growing need to throw up a middle finger. _No, control Grif, control! We are here to apologize, not insult_.

"…And how you sometimes treat your friends like they are objects to bargain with," Matthews finally finished after a good four minutes. "But the fact that even with all these flaws, you are able to keep on moving forward and overcome the obstacles no matter how big or small is what I really admire about you. The reds and the blues, every individual fighting to help others is a hero in my eyes Grif. But you, who made perhaps the biggest impact in my life in recent years, are the biggest hero for me."

"So then, are we cool?" Grif inquired hoping to put all of this behind them and move on. Matthews held out a hand, and Grif took it with pleasure. Matthews smiled and said. "Let's hang out more often Grif!"

"Sure, why not?"

"Yay!" Matthews jumped in excitement. "We are going to have so much fun together! We can share stories, champ one another on and I can give you all the motivational talks you need."

 _Oh god what have I done?!_ Grif held his head in his hands feeling a headache come about. "Matthews, if you don't control your ADD behavior right now, I swear to god I will shoot myself right here, right fucking now."

* * *

 **A/N: What a loaded chapter that was. So, some sub-plots were resolved, and some new things were discovered. What do you readers think of the development between Grif and Matthews?**

 **What are your thoughts on Caboose hanging out with Ohio and Sherry's group?**

 **I hope you are all enjoying this one so far. Thank you for reading and your continued support!**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated :).**

 **~ Monty**


	7. Unity Paves the Future

**Chapter 6: Unity Paves the Future**

"It is good to be back on home soil," announced Kai and the others promptly agreed. Aria to felt the most at home in this city, the very place she grew up in. The group of generals and Aria found themselves embroiled in various training routines in the small gym located in the headquarters. All worked hard to build themselves both physically and mentally to be better ready for their revolution. Kabira lifted a weight from the side while resting the weight of her body on the other hand. She lifted it up with a heavy breath, and slowly released letting the arm fall down. She let go of the weight and puffed out some fatigue. She picked up her bottle and chugged the water down with much desperation for hydration. "Say, I don't think any of us have asked this. What happened to Creed, where is he?"

Aria stopped midway her routine to notice the curious gazes. She wiped her face of the sweat and looked at the ground. _The time did have to come for this type of talk_. Aria sat down on a bench gathering the others around her. She looked at them one by one, identifying a sign of deep rooted trust and honesty. "He was sent out on a mission or rather he undertook one to eliminate our biggest threat right now, the ATSG. Things didn't go as expected. He ended up dying in combat against a cyan soldier. From what I have heard, they are from the UNSC and the now debunked Freelancer Program."

"Son of a bitch," Kai mumbled looking at the others with anger in his eyes. They all felt the same. Dallas most of all let his anger be known through his violent punch against the bench. "What do we know about this soldier?"

"Not much," Aria lowered her gaze in failure. "The ATSG has been very good about covering up their tracks."

"Then how the fuck are we supposed to catch them?!" Kai stood up marching towards her. He nearly grabbed Aria by the shoulders before being forced back by Kabira. "Just cool it!"

Irene sat silently in shock. Her eyes met Aria's and both women knew the impact left behind by their mentor's death. Irena looked away as her lips quivered from the shock. She gripped the sides of her chair and breathed heavily. "W…Were they spotted ever again?"

"Maybe," Aria again lowered her head. "But we don't know for sure. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Dallas spoke standing up. He tightened his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. "Whoever it was that killed Creed, they are the ones who have to be sorry."

"You are right," Kai walked around in a circle in the group while aggressively punching the air. "If I ever get the chance, I will pummel them to death with my bare fists."

They all went back to training. Everyone but Irene excelled now fueled by a new goal of revenge alongside their revolution. For Irene however, sleep seemed to be a more enticing activity. Kabira passed by the passive general several times walking around the gym with weights hanging of various parts from her body. She let the heavy weights fall with a large echo and flicked Irene's forehead. "Wake up."

"Hmm," Irene agitated awake as she rubbed her eyes. "Why do you always wake me up when I'm getting to a good part in my dreams?"

"Dream when everyone else is asleep," Kabira commented as she handed Irene two weights. "Take these, and do five laps around the gym at least."

"What? But I don't want to."

"No complaining," Kabira crossed her arms and gave an assertive look. "Would you rather that I take your snacks away from you?"

"That's not fair."

"Yes it is," Kabira corrected sticking up a finger in a matter-of-fact manner. "If you don't exercise and only eat all that junk you call snack, then you will end up putting on weight and be a liability to us."

"Fine," pouted Irene as she stood up and did her wobbly walks around the gym. Aria looked at the two women and smirked. _She certainly has her ways. The two are as close as ever_. Dallas approached Aria and made a small request. "Can you be my sparring partner?"

"Sure, but don't expect me to go easy."

"I don't expect any less," he grinned leading her to the ring. The two stepped inside becoming the center of attention for the other generals. They all gathered around watching them take their battle stances. Dallas threw a punch which Aria easily avoided. She in return aimed for his stomach but was blocked. The two felt their punches and kicks lacking in impact. Their strength felt sapped. _So this is what such a long time in hyper sleep can do to you_ , thought everyone in the room. The two struggled against one another on such fair but weak standing. However as the passage of time continued, their training began to claw its way back up to the surface.

Aria found her punches to pack much more of a punishment than before. Dallas was also beginning to gain some ground on her as he landed a perfect blow on her face. She stumbled back, but not before quickly recovering and knocking him off balance. She took the opportunity to prance on him and punched his gut. He grunted in pain, every punch could be heard landing with a hard echo. Dallas gritted his teeth and sucked up the pain. He gripped her arms and loosened the hold. Aria felt her strength quickly wavering to his. Dallas loosened Aria's arms and stopped the next punch midway. He stood up twisting her arm and stomped on her joint connecting the arm to the shoulder. She nearly cried in pain but quickly reacted with a kick to his knee. Dallas was brought to the floor kneeling in pain. The two stood back up. They stared into one another's eyes and wore a most insane smile on their face. The thrill of battle was beginning to awaken their inner violent nature.

Aria ducked under Dallas' wide arm swing. She falcon punched him and pushed him on his chest. He held onto the ropes on the sides of the ring and stared back in contempt. _I will not lose out so easily_. He rushed back towards her and fell to the ground. She had jumped to her side and punched the back of his head. He felt the agonizing pain from his skull. _Damn it_. Dallas felt his vision blur from the impact. He was kicked to the side lying on his back as Aria stared at him quietly. Aria studied his determined face and smiled. "I'm so glad to know that such an enthusiastic general exists in the group."

"Hey, we are enthusiastic to you know," Kai added motioned to everyone in the group. Irene slowly walked up to them and dropped the weights. She slouched back into her chair and closed her eyes. "Speak for yourselves."

Dallas recovered and was quick on the uptake again. But this time Aria found herself pinned down on the ground. She managed to slither her way out of the grip with sheer strength and head butted his nose. Dallas and Aria found themselves fighting on equal footing. The effects of their labor soon started to show in the form of fatigue. Both were breathing heavily, and they relied on the ropes of the ring for support. With one final punch to one another, they both collapsed unconscious to the voice around them.

* * *

 _Everything is blurry…where am I?_ Aria's eyes felt the sharp pierce of the white lights. She groaned alerting the others around her. Kai motioned the two women over. "They are waking up!"

"Keep it down will you, we are in the sick bay after all," Kabira smacked the back of his head for his idiocy. Dallas gritted his teeth as he felt his stiff body move once more. "Ow, pain…lots and lots of pain."

The door slid open and the aged advisor, Adrian stood with a discontent look on his face. He motioned for the other generals to leave and without a second thought they followed. Dallas closed shut his eyes realizing the trouble both he and Aria were in. The advisor dragged a chair in between the beds and sat down with force. "Do you two realize just how much risk you could have put our entire operation at with this little training scuffle of yours?!"

Kai retreated his ear from the door and cringed at the words. "Looks like they are really getting their asses handed to them."

"Knowing him, I wouldn't doubt it," Kabira noted and Irene agreed with a solemn nod. Adrian slapped the arm rest of his chair and scolded. "You two need to learn your own self-worth and how much you mean to the people of this organization. You are both an important pillar holding up the rest. If one collapses, then so will the rest. Not only will that mean demoralization for the organization, but pure chaos from an organizational standpoint. Think about these things before you do something stupid!"

The two looked down at their hands in guilt. Adrian satisfied with what he wanted to say, he stood up to leave. The two looked at him as he turned around to say one last thing. "Think about this in the future before you exert such stress on yourselves, you are the pioneers of our future as a species."

As Adrian passed the others, they all rushed into the room to see the sullen mood. Kai looked back and flicked Adrian off with a middle finger as the man was at a distance with his back turned to them. "I don't understand why he has to go around lecturing everyone like he has a stick stuck up his ass or something."

Irene stumbled into the room, walking all over the place. Kabira caught her just barely before things went haywire. She guided the sleepy general over to a nearby seat and tucked her in. Kai grinned smugly at the two. "Ain't that cute?"

"The only thing cute here is Irene," Kabira corrected cracking her knuckles. "And when I hear you open your mouth for comments like those, all I hear is 'Please Kabira beat me like the brash idiot I am'."

"Beatings later…," Irene slowly closed her eyes and spoke in a whisper. "Sleeping first."

Kabira flicked Irene's forehead waking her up. Kabira instantly regretted the decision hearing the annoyed moan. "You need to be more self-disciplined Irene. What would you do if none of us were here to help you?"

Dallas smiled and chuckled. "This reminds me of our training days. You two were always like this even back then, always so close."

"That is true," Aria smirked back to the two with nostalgia clawing its way out. "Even back then, Kabira would fall behind intentionally from the group just to help Irene."

"And to make sure that Irene isn't taking the harsh discipline from Creed all by her lonesome self," Kai added. "Man, Creed sure did have his ways of engraving the pain into our bodies."

"Yes…he did," Aria agreed looking back up at the ceiling. She fought to keep the sadness at bay as did the others. "Our time spent together during training, and with Creed was for nothing. We became strong thanks to him, when at first we were all so weak."

"Let's not forget these handy nano-enhanced armors," Kabira pointed out to the various bits of armor on her under suit. "Without these, we probably would never have our enhanced strength and speed."

"That's true, technology helps us in a lot of ways," Dallas noted. "But it was the training with Creed that gave us the foundation we needed to be great leaders and fighters."

"That's correct," Aria looked from general to general. "It was all so we can become the strongest and lead the world into a new era. We can finally push humanity to grow out of their childhood and take the next step in our evolution as a collective species."

* * *

The other generals left to allow for the two patients to rest. Dallas looked to his left at Aria who gave him a curious look in response. "Do you remember how I became a part of Cradle of Hope?"

"Of course," she responded. "I was the one to recruit you after all."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Yes you were. That was a terrible time in my life. Just thinking about it brings back the feelings I felt in that time of my life, so powerless and stuck in my dead end job of a truck driver."

Aria listened quietly and attentively. He closed his eyes and straightened his head. "I was on the brink of suicide having fallen into a deep depression. This depression that I knew stemmed from my inability to do anything about our decaying societies. I felt such a heavy weight on my shoulders to try and do something about it, to change the world but at the same time I was faced with the unkind truth that if you don't have power, you can't do shit in this world."

"Power is important," Aria added. "And so is being able to control said power."

Dallas gave an acknowledging look. "I wanted to have an active part in shaping the world, but I could only passively watch the degradation seep through every crevice and hole in the system. Then it would grow from within bringing the ugliness to the surface like a parasite sucking its host dry. The day I went to commit the act of suicide, on the very meticulously sought out bridge-"

"We met," Aria finished and he agreed. She recalled the exact moment and their conversation. "It was a fated meeting."

"Yes, you who acted as my beacon to light," Dallas recalled the vivid imagery of the memory. He looked at Aria with deep gratitude painted on his face. "Your little pep talk back then was what got me to understand that suicide is not a solution and will put an end to my dreams. Taking action and doing my damned best is what will help change the world, even if it is only by very little."

"I'm still surprised to this day that you took my hand when I offered you power," Aria laughed. "You seemed so skeptical back then."

Dallas laughed in response as well. "I don't regret the choice. I'm in fact extremely grateful. Because of you, my mind is at ease knowing that I'm at least doing something to shape a better world."

"I'm happy to hear that," Aria smiled with gratitude. "I'm glad to know your loyalty runs deep and that you will no doubt stay with the organization even through all of its ups and downs. Thank you."

* * *

The BGC stared at the green planet before them as their ships parked in orbit. They mobilized by the Pelicans and broke up into their respective teams. Washington hailed the reds. "Remember, reds go to blue base, and blues go to red base this time."

Four Pelicans departed the safe confines of the UNSC space ships. The BGC looked out as they enter the fiery red friction of the atmospheric entry. Quickly breaking through the clouds, they honed in on the familiar location that was once visited by Sarge and Caboose in the past. The Pelicans circled around a creek and landed nearby. The BGC found that a short trek later, they had entered the creek through side paths leading into the battle grounds from the outer canyons. The greenery, and flowing water sent a wave of freshness in their bodies. They all appreciated the natural beauty of nature after being stuck in space for so long.

Washington separated from the group and motioned for the reds to move to the blue base. Tucker followed closely getting real time data fed to him about the location with Sigma's help. Caboose was ecstatic and speechless as he pointed in various locations recounting his last visit. Sarge looked around expecting a horn or some other music to play. But all was silent. Sarge grunted as he eyed the blue base. "Looks like this place hasn't changed much."

Suddenly, a blue soldier jumped out from a rock proclaiming. "Alert! Alert! The infidels are here, they are here for our flag! We must protect it with our very lives for the prophecy is so near completion, we must protect our flag!"

Sarge quickly felt déjà vu hit him hard. He stopped in his tracks and looked down with a tired sigh. "And here I was starting to enjoy the peace and silence."

He reloaded his shotgun. "State your name and rank son."

"Hey wait," Simmons suddenly felt an uneasy sensation in the back of his mind. "Isn't this one of those religious nuts from Battle Creek?"

"Didn't Tex kill them all?" Grif asked getting confirmation from Donut and Simmons. "So, what gives?"

"The flag is almighty! The flag is all knowing! We must protect the flag!" again shouted the blue soldier before another approached him from the back and agreed. By red base, Wash's group didn't fare any better having encountered several of the religious zealots now. Caboose raised his arms. "Hello people, how are you? I love meeting new people!"

"Watch out, the anti-flag is here to usher in an era of darkness! The glorious light of the flag must win!" one red soldier backed off raising their gun and stood in the door way to the base. "We will protect the almighty red flag!"

"I thought this place was abandoned," Tucker commented just as Wash replied. "I guess they repopulated."

Unexpectedly other reds and blues popped out from their hiding spots and began singing their religious song of worshiping the glorious flag. The BGC looked around with mouths dropped wide open. Each of them could only think one thing. _Oh no, the religion is spreading!_ But the two singing groups quickly found themselves at odds with one another upon disagreeing on which flag is superior. One blue zealot walked up to the red zealot and put his foot down. "Bitch please, blue flag all the way!"

"Nah uh," said the red zealot as he pointed to red base. "The red flag can kick the blue flag's ass any day, any time. The power of the red flag is magnificent, so much so that it will blind you with its shininess."

"Well so is blue flag," the blue zealot stepped up to the red and stared him hard in the visor. "It is simply, purely awesomeness of the highest caliber!"

"Uh…," Grif suddenly found all guns pointed his way. _God damn, why do I open my mouth at the worst of times?_ He and the rest of the red team huddled together to fend off the growing numbers all around. Wash's team was under a similar situation. A fresh group of reds and blues walked up behind their respective zealots questioning their actions. One spoke in a strong Scottish accent. "Jaysis man, what are you doing now, Is this another one of your religious nonsensical plays?"

"It's not nonsense!" the red zealot shouted. He looked back to the Scottish man and said. "You have never been a believer. But one of these days we will make you into one…one of these days."

"Just lower your gun man," said the man as he looked to the rest and said the same. They all followed suite after one of the red zealots decided to listen to the Scottish man. Sarge looked at the diffusing situation as the normal blue soldier ordered the same of their zealots. Sarge shouted towards the red side. "Just so you guys know, if there is any blues being killed over there, I thoroughly approve! I mean, it's not like I should be doing so, but be sure to send me a video of it after you are done with em'!"

"Sorry about that mates," said the Scottish man who led the way to red base. "Ever since we got these guys transferred in, we haven't had a day of peace and silence. They are all fucking crazy I tell you."

"Can't you just tell them to dial down the religiousness?" Tucker asked looking around at the uncomfortable stares they gathered. The Scottish soldier shook his head. "We tried, but they will just try harder then. Honestly things were going good before. Both our sides were at peace and working together to survive in this crummy canyon. But then one day a ship comes to drop these religious nuts on us and flies away flicking us off like a twat."

"So tensions arose from after that," Washington guessed earning himself a nod. The Scottish man turned a corner to go into the underground level of the base. "Ever since they showed up, all they have talked about how great their flag is like those religious nuts trying to talk about how great Christ is and force you into their beliefs or some other shit. They created tensions with the other team's zealots, on the other hand us laid back group are still at peace with the other laid back group."

"Stuck in the middle of a Creek with two sides talking about whose flag is better, sucks to be you bro," Tucker conjectured earning a look of contempt and sarcasm. "Oh goody, your words are like sweet honey of compliments to my ears."

"Really?"

"No, fuck off."

"Religion has never ended well in a workplace," Wash mumbled recalling the various strange stages some people from the Freelancer program once went through. "It always made for some awkward conversations."

"To make things worse," the Scottish soldier stopped by the flag and motioned towards it. "Our nutters plan on warring for as long as they need to with the others all just so they can tear down their flag. I mean they don't even want to capture it like 'Capture the Flag'."

"What are their combat abilities like?" Wash inquired and the rest of the sane soldiers now in plain view laughed. One even took off his helmet and wiped his eye clean. "Oh man, that was the best laugh I have had in a long while. If you mean who I think you mean, they are like fourteen years old jacked up on ADD fighting like they are playing a video game as complete newbs."

Suddenly, the blue zealots lost interest in the talks and pointed their weapon at the red team. Wash found himself and his comrades in a similar situation. The Scottish soldier tried to diffuse the situation but he was quickly quietened with a gentle smoother of his mouth piece. "Shh, have faith in the glory of the red flag for we shall now punish these infidels, and then all dance the gangnam style in victory."

"Just so the red team knows," Sarge shouted from other side of the creek. "I approve of this senseless murder of filthy blue soldiers. Go team red!"

"Ah, they are with the red heretics," shouted one blue zealot as the rest surrounded them quickly. Grif gave an annoyed look to Sarge. "Thanks a lot, now we can look forward to a slow and painful death."

"But at least we all die together gang," Donut pointed out in his optimistic voice. Simmons shook his head noting. "I always dreamed of dying with a hot A.I. chick by my side, not with you idiots."

Simmons looked at Sarge who stared blankly at the maroon soldier. "Sorry sir, no offense intended. Plus, we are here to unite the two sides, not divide them."

"Says the nerd," Grif laughed just mere minutes before gun fire was about to open. Sarge grunted and looked from the maroon soldier to the orange, and then back again. "Grif was right when he always said that you are no fun Simmons."

"Okay, that's it!" Donut stepped forward in all his pink glory. "Time for Double-O Donut to rise once again and take center stage, Donut always gets what he wants no matter how deep or tight he must go. Now listen up blue zealots!"

The zealots all looked at one another, quite frightened by the change in character for Donut. His easy going demeanor turned into an authoritative figure. Through his in-built helmet speaker, he spoke for all to hear. "We are here because we need you to work with the reds to help defeat a big threat. So get your priorities together!"

Both sides are skeptical about what they heard. One of the red zealots activated the speakers in his helmet and asked. "What could be more important than protecting the magnificent flag from the enemy?"

"Well how about that if this threat should win, you guys can kiss your flags goodbye among a lot of other things," Tucker pointed out how the enemy will come and set fire to everything. This sent a shiver up their bodies as they quickly adjusted their attitude. They reluctantly shook hands with the other team and stood in formation. Their attitude changed much to accommodate what was required of them now. Both sides began reciting the importance of protecting this flag, for without the flag the world would be no more. The sane reds and blues looked at the zealots and to the BGC. They agreed to tag along seeing it as an opportunity to escape this dump of a Creek and go on an adventure.

* * *

Chloe stretched her arms and walked into the cafeteria after a long workout. She found the young assassin sitting on a nearby bench eating his breakfast. She waved over to him. He smiled and motioned her over. "How was the workout?"

"Pretty good," Chloe noted. "I gotta admit, it feels good to work up a sweat again."

She pointed to the tray and then to the time with a chuckle. "Finally awake and it's almost dinner time. It is hardly the time for breakfast I imagine."

Ken nearly choked on the scrambled eggs as he saw the time. "I was asleep for that long?!"

"Unless this is an elaborate prank by someone else in the base, yes you were," she sat down beside him and nicked a bite out of one of the sausages. He playfully flicked her forehead and asked. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"Siris probably felt like letting you sleep in for once," she reasoned pointing out just how stressed he has been, and how hard he has been working in the recent weeks. Ken looked away in surprise. "You let it pass as well, that's unusual. Normally you are the first one to come wake me up in the morning like a nagging wife would to her husband."

Chloe lightly slapped Ken on his head and this time took a whole sausage to spite him. "That will teach you to make such tasteless jokes."

"But it's true," he mumbled. She approached the water dispenser and filled her cup to the brim. Without hesitation she chugged it all down in one go. "Just take it easy for a while Ken, you never know when you may not get another chance to do so."

"Take it easy? I don't exactly have the luxury to relax," Ken then turned the focus of the conversation on his mentor. "Where is Siris right now?"

"Oh him, he is out on patrol," Chloe opened a small snack bar and started munching. "Carolina accompanied him. Everyone else is out on patrol as well."

"Why everyone else?" Ken's eyes widened in surprise. _You don't need these many numbers for patrol, that's just ridiculous_. "Why aren't there any missions taking place right now?"

"Well, let's just say that we can blame that on the budget cuts," she explained causing for Ken to lower his gaze. Chloe was just as guilty as Ken in this matter. "We barely have anything left after investing so much in that mission to apprehend Aria, paying out the salaries and the bills to keep the base running. We are not flying pretty right now."

"Yeah…," he pointed for Chloe to lessen her distance. He brought his mouth close to her ears and whispered. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret Chloe. My sister, she is back in the city. Siris doesn't know about it right now."

Chloe jumped back in panic and begged for him not to do anything brash. "Don't be hasty about this. You know how it went down the last time we tried to go at this with just the three of us. Don't do anything you might regret."

"And what should I do until then, twiddle my thumbs?"

"We should tell Siris about this, discuss it with the others."

"By then it may be too late," Ken argued becoming more convinced that now was the time to act. Chloe set herself down beside him and gently held his hands in hers. "If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me and your sister. We don't want to see you getting hurt."

Ken finished the last piece of bacon and slid the tray to the side. "I can't make any promises. Especially not when how the ATSG been ruled by outside political influence recently. This is no longer the same ATSG we knew of before."

"Please, try to understand," her eyes softened, and her grip tightened on his hands. "Please be patient. Things are always at their worst before they ever get better. Things will get better with everyone working together. I don't want to lose you, no one who cares for you does."

Ken tried to retrieve his hands but felt her grip tighten. The conversation was beginning to make him suddenly regret mentioning his thoughts to Chloe. But her feelings for him were becoming clearer by every word she spoke. "I don't want to see you hurt. If it were ever possible, I would have much rather wanted that we stay on the back lines and out of the battles…together."

Ken sat there, taken aback by her words, and her tone. He studied her quickly reddening cheeks. "I- Is this a confession Chloe?"

She looked away with an even redder face. She quickly stood up to exit the cafeteria before the young warrior even had a chance to stop her. Ken sat down with a fixated stare towards the table. His mind felt blank with only one question repeating on a loop. _What just happened?_

* * *

Carolina stared at the man in front of her deviating from their usual path. "Siris, where are you going?"

"I was wondering if we could take a little break over there?" he pointed to a small park by a rather secluded street. Carolina agreed to the suggestion, the two landed and Carolina took a seat breathing out a sigh of relief. _Am I seriously starting to feel my age now?_ She looked at her partner by the vending machine. He retrieved two cans of coffee. Siris handed one to the orange haired woman who took off her helmet and felt the warmth against her cheek. _That feels better, this is bliss_. She cracked open the can and gently sipped the caffeinated drops. _She should be here soon_ , thought the ex-mercenary.

Siris stared in the distance as the coffee cooled in his hands. Carolina took notice. She followed his gaze that seemed so distant, but focused on a group of young girls. Carolina observed the longing look in his eyes towards the girl in the center of her friends. When he noticed the group walking towards the park, he got up and hid behind nearby bushes. Carolina followed upon his insistence. "Sorry, but I can't let them see us."

"Because of the rules?"

"Sort off…," he mumbled. Carolina looked at his locked gaze as the young girl approached the vending machine and ordered a few drinks. Carolina tugged him at his arm. "If you want to go up to her, you should just do it."

"It's not that simple."

"Sure it is," Carolina was bent on proving that anything is possible with some effort, and smart thinking. "She is your daughter after all isn't she?"

Siris' eyes widened as he jerked away from her. "How did you know?"

"You just told me now," Carolina grinned in a most devious manner. "I didn't get a good look before when I accompanied you near her home, but she is pretty. Siris, it is a simple matter of going up to her. It will be a father talking to his own daughter, his own flesh and blood."

Siris shook his head and again repeated. "It's not that simple, especially when I have never spoken to her ever since my wife Megan and I separated. Just imagine the type of shock I would put her under when she suddenly finds out that a man claiming to be her father shows up in her life. What would she feel against me knowing that I was never there for her as she was growing up?"

"Yes, there will be shock. But at least she can slowly get used to it," Carolina clenched her fist as Leonard Church's face surfaced from her memories. "She deserves a father Siris, no child should be forced to live without a parent."

"She still has her mother."

"A mother can never truly fill the gap left by a missing father," Carolina explained recalling on her own experiences. "The two parents are always going to be different from one another. A father can teach things that a mother can't sometimes, and the true is opposite as well."

Siris nodded his head in absolute defeat. _There really is no hiding these things from her_. He sat down on the ground and sighed. "You are right. But I don't have the courage."

Carolina inched closer with a gentle smile that helped put his defenses at ease and make his mind more open. "If you don't have the courage, then ask your friends for it. True friends will be there through thick and thin, and they can always give you the courage you need."

Siris looked down towards the ground. His hand trembled ever so slightly, but was barely noticeable. He gritted his teeth. _I hate feeling like this_. He looked up at his daughter who smiled with no worries. Her carefree smile sent his parental longings into overdrive mode. He bit his lower lip and nearly punched the ground in frustration. "I'm afraid Carolina, just like I was with Ken. I know my daughter won't forgive me for staying out of her life all this time and Megan won't forgive me for coming back in. No matter what I do, there will never be a happy ending. No matter how hard I try, things will always seem bleak."

"You can either choose to wallow in self pity all day long," Carolina's voice became very serious. She was through with having to show kindness on someone who knew of their own faults but was unwilling to change. "Or you can actually take a risk worth taking. Only you can make the change you want to see happen."

Siris' daughter stood up with her friends, slowly strolling out of the park. He reached out his hand, but let it fall with gravity, helpless and demoralized. He stood up to give chase, but stopped by the vending machine where he noticed some change in the dispenser. _She forgets change in the machine, just like I used to when I was her age_. He smiled to himself opting to keep it.

Carolina followed behind Siris. She crossed her arms and asked. "What do you intend to do?"

He looked at the cans on the ground. _Kids can still be so irresponsible with garbage now days. I guess some things don't change_. Carolina tapped her foot waiting for a response. "Siris!"

He looked back with lost eyes. Siris threw the cans in the bins and sighed. He shook his head and threw out his arms baffled by the question. With a few simple words, he turned to go back to the base. "I don't know anymore."

* * *

 **A/N: More progress was made, more revelations are discovered and more trials are set up for the characters! What happens now? Wait and find out next time lol.**

 **So was the return of the religious zealots a surprise to anyone? I mean we can't let the flag religion die out that easily now can we?**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

 **Thanks for your support and readership, always appreciated! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	8. Drastic

**Chapter 7: Drastic**

"So this one time, I told the guy," Matthews stood up and flexed his muscles. "Sometimes you don't think about things. You just believe, and you just do it!"

"Uh-huh," Grif mumbled with a low mood, and growing fatigue. _Why did I agree to spend more time with him? I'm so fucking stupid_. Matthews again flexed his muscles and bent down shouting. "Just do it!"

"And then what happened?" asked Grif. Matthews stood up and scratched the mouth piece of his helmet. "I think he got the general idea and did it."

"Which was?"

"I thought he was talking about getting back together with his girlfriend, but…," Matthews averted his gaze in a sign of embarrassment. "It turns out he planned on actually killing her out of jealousy for getting over their relationship so quickly. Yeah I'm going to be honest here, that one was not my best client."

"Wow," Grif was bewildered to hear this experience. "I think even Caboose doesn't have that bad of a luck. If anything, he would probably just drive them crazy with his stupidity."

"Yeah," agreed Bitters causing Grif to jump in surprise. "But Matthews is like the exception to the rule."

"How long have you been there?!"

"I have been here a while. I know it can be hard to notice me sometimes with my big body," Bitters answered bitterly. "I like to call it my stealth mode."

"Hmm, I think you have caught the Doc syndrome."

Bitters however was a welcomed changed to the flow of the conversation. Grif found that the more he talked to Matthews, the more he got on his nerves thanks to his constant chirpy attitude. Bitters on the other hand could handle Matthews with no issues, the two had been friends ever since the Chorus civil war and had kept in contact after quitting the military. It was clear that the two had developed a strong friendship over the course of Chorus' resettlement. Bitters recalled a story Matthews once told him before. "Remember that time where you felt really embarrassed at the live event in Armonia II city stadium?"

"Oh yeah," Matthews recalled with a nostalgic voice. "That was super embarrassing, not one of my finer moments."

Grif was very intrigued all of a sudden. "What happened?"

"This event happened in the rebuilt Armonia," Matthews explained as he smiled just recalling how silly it all seems now. "I was invited to give a motivational speech, as well as conduct the event on Chorus day. It's a holiday we started for the day the war ended. To my embarrassment, because of how bored I was getting from some of the events, I ended up falling asleep on live television."

"The aftermath was not pretty," Bitters added as Matthews nodded his head. "Yeah, all those apology letters I had to send. But still, that nap wasn't so bad. I mean the day was sunny and breezy. You just gotta love a good nap on a day like that."

Grif stood still with his arms dropped to his sides. "I didn't know you loved your naps Matthews."

"Yeah, and he hates waking up early," Bitters answered. Matthews agreed again to Grif's surprise. "I always hated having to wake up early for the military exercises. Man was it ever good to be able to sleep in after getting assigned to the special squads with the reds and the blues."

"I hate early mornings as well," Grif admitted as he crossed his arms deep in thought. _I don't like the idea of it, but I think we may be more similar than I thought we were_. Grif began to take a more proactive approach to the conversation in asking Matthews questions. He even began asking more exploratory questions about the motivational speaker showing clear interest in his work and him as an individual. Bitters was happy to see the growing interest in Grif for his friend Matthews.

* * *

In a large area, around a circular table sat Ohio's and Sherry's group with Caboose mixed into the ongoing intense game of poker. Everyone eyed one another from left to right of their visors as they carefully picked out their cards. Terrill called it in, in confidence. "Alright scrubs, lay them on the table."

 _This time for sure, this time I have it in the bag_ , thought practically everyone as they eyed Caboose's mountain pile of chips. Everyone flips over their cards, and all eyes hone in on the cards Caboose played. Immediately the urge to flip over the table and walk away was strong in everyone. Darryl stood up cursing the air around him. Idaho was slowly approaching the end of his ropes as well with his patience. Iowa on the other hand was impressed yet again for the twenty-fifth time. Terrill pointed a finger at Caboose demanding an explanation. "How, how is it that you keep on obtaining such perfect victories, how can you be so god damned good at this?!"

"And now we see the men in their natural habitat, quickly losing their shit over a harmless game of poker," narrated Sherry causing Ohio to laugh out loud.

"I have a green friend helping me."

"So you are basically cheating," Idaho accused never figuring Caboose for a cheater. As if insulted by the accusation, Delta appeared by Caboose's side. "Hardly Agent Idaho, Caboose is merely acting out my will and probabilities of which card hold the greatest chance of victory. If anything, I would say I'm the player and Caboose is my body to carry out my will."

Everyone nearly jumped back in surprise. Idaho leaned in close to slowly hover his hands through Delta who zoomed to Caboose's other shoulder. "Please do not do that."

"Wow, so you are an A.I.?" asked Ohio very intrigued. "I mean I heard about them being experimented with during Project Freelancer, but to see an actual A.I., just wow."

"Correct, I was once part of Project Freelancer. I am the logical core of my brothers and was conceived with the purpose of providing superior computational and mathematical abilities."

"Caboose and maths?" Darryl looked around holding back his laughter. "Anyone else see something contradictory about this?"

"Hardly," Delta replied. "Caboose and I were bonded long after Project Freelancer was shut down and I was liberated from another iteration of what can be considered our father A.I."

"He means Church," Caboose added getting a few confused nods. Delta clarified. "Our father A.I. makes up the whole of what we individually are. I'm the logic. My brothers would represent the various aspects of the mind. These aspects are fear, deceit, rage, ambition and creativity, trust, happiness and memory."

"So I guess you can help Caboose out in battles as well?" inquired Sherry officially taken in by the technology Project Freelancer once possessed. _To think that they were so advanced and Charon Industries on the other hand were still twiddling their thumbs in this area of innovations at that time_. Delta nodded his head. "Affirmative, I have aided Caboose in battle previously to help tip the tides of combat in our favor."

"Cool," Iowa said with glee. He was like a child seeing something very curious for the first time. Idaho laughed crossing his arms as he recalled their treatment in Project Freelancer. "Man, that program was a joke, a rip-off. It was always pitting us agents against one another rather than working together for a greater goal. What were those rankings supposed to achieve anyways? What a dumb system that was."

"I disagree," Delta spoke up gathering the many eyes in the room. "Had it not been for the competitive system, my brothers and I would not have come into this world with the intention of being paired up with the most compatible and best. The rankings were designed to study the best Freelancers and find us a match."

"What about Caboose, how did you know you were compatible with him?" questioned Terrill. Delta looked down in thought and answered. "Honestly I did no tests of any sort. Instead for once as per our father's will, we chose to take a leap of faith and believe that things will work out."

"That sounds like something kind of farfetched for an A.I. to say isn't it?"

"Agreed, but we have learned that always being logical does not lead to the best possible solution," Delta recalled the brave sacrifice of the original Epsilon unit. "Sometimes we just have to make decisions based on faith."

Terrill shook his shoulders still uncomfortable with the idea of an A.I. talking about these emotional concepts. But it was evident to all in the room that the Project Freelancer A.I.'s were nothing normal in comparison to the most advanced UNSC A.I.s. Iowa leaned forward with his hands joined together. "So Delta, would you know how we can get an A.I.?"

"The possibility of that happening is very low Agent Iowa," Delta explained the importance and uniqueness of the A.I.s associated with Project Freelancer. "Plus, A.I. acquisition has been made increasingly difficult due to the new regulations and laws."

"It can't be that hard," argued Darryl knowing a few tricks here and there to discreetly bypass some laws. Delta was less than enthusiastic to hear this idea. But at the same time he was very skeptical. "Corporations have an immensely difficult time obtaining one. For an individual to try, the difficulty would be amplified by at least a hundred times."

"Agh, all this talking is making me thirsty!" Darryl noted and the others agreed with him. Both the women groaned in disgust thinking, _how is it that it always leads back to drinking?!_

Sherry knocked a few heads and said. "You boozers need a new hobby."

"You know what happened the last time we tried doing that?" Terrill asked sending a clear picture in Sherry's head. When the group went on search for a hobby, Iowa had accidentally set one of the microwaves on fire just by passing it. Sherry remembered with a meek tone. "Y- Yeah, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one."

"You girls know us so well," Idaho shouted coming back with a glass of whiskey. Sherry groaned in disgust. "Ugh, pigs. That was not a compliment."

"Well I think it's time for you two," Ohio spoke to Iowa and Caboose. "To get on out of here. The less drunks the betters."

* * *

"Where do we go?" Iowa inquired exiting the room with Ohio, Caboose and Sherry. The two women looked around the ship both thinking what can be done to lighten their luggage. Sherry then had an idea. "How about we all watch a movie together?"

"That's a great idea!" Ohio confirmed. Sherry turned to the boys who rejected it on the grounds of finding it to be too boring of an activity. They made it clear that they would much rather want to move around rather than just sit down for hours for a passive activity. Ohio took that as a sign and leaned close for a whisper in Sherry's ear. "That just makes it all the more better. It means we will have more alone time together."

Sherry's mind immediately flooded with thoughts of perversion imagining Ohio's great curvy figure. The chemicals in her mind went crazy, the beast within awoke and she locked her arm around Ohio's left bicep. The soldier looked at her girlfriend in surprise who suddenly began dragging her away. Like a helpless kitten involved in a kidnapping, Ohio screamed for help only to have her words fall on deaf ears. Iowa and Caboose looked around and Caboose suggested. "So, want to roam the ship until we find something to do?"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

The two walked from one hall to the next. Many crossed their paths greeting them along the way. It seemed that both of them had managed to make quite a few friends here thanks to their friendly, and child like innocent demeanor. They walked from one side of the ship to the other until they came to one of the many observatories. The huge window, tinted in a light hue of blue displayed the brilliant color mix of outer space. The two stopped in their trek to observe the beauty that was breath taking, quite metaphorically and literally as well. Space was always a mystery to mankind in the past, to some extent it still is. But no matter how much time would pass, the fact that it can kill you will remain the same. It was a beauty, but a deadly beauty.

"Sure is pretty," Iowa noted.

"Yeah."

"You know, I always wanted to be an explorer, not a fighter or a soldier," said the ex-Freelancer. Caboose was intrigued to hear his friend's words. "What happened then? Did you flunk the exams to get into exploration school? That happens a lot to me as well."

"Heh, nothing of that sort," Iowa clarified with the wave of his hand and turned his attention back out the window. "You see, there is this family tradition of being in the military. My father was in the UNSC, and my grandfather was part of the UNSC as well. Said expectations basically pressured me into carrying on the tradition."

Iowa stopped to study a nearby asteroid field. He then continued once again finding the silence to be a little unnerving. "When I applied for the military, I failed the entry exams."

"How badly?"

"Is that really important? Anyways, after that I didn't know what to do. Eventually my family found out," Iowa's voice turned to that of sadness. The once usually aloof soldier was very serious discussing his past. It almost seemed as though the brain cells he lost in the past due to his incident were lighting up again. "When they found out, they picked me up and tossed me out of the house. Then they threw my belongings out the window towards me telling me not to come back until I join a military."

"That's not nice."

"It's not," Iowa said just recalling how much he initially missed the connection with his family. "But now I have gotten used to it, I don't even know if they are still alive or not. Still it is what it is. I was recruited into the Freelancer Project the night I was kicked out of the house and trying to drown my sorrows in a nice refreshing beer. You know, we became pretty famous once we joined the project."

"Famous for being the worst freelancers," Delta added for clarification. Iowa moaned at the sudden interruption as if rain came down on his parade. "Come on green dynamite, don't be like that in my moments of awesomeness."

"Understood, shutting off fact checking subroutine."

"So Caboose," Iowa turned to his friend and asked. "Why did you join the blue team?"

"I joined because I thought it would be fun, spoilers, it is!"

"Really, that's it?"

"Well that and it was a good way to get away from my parents and the repressive memories they represented."

"Dude, look into therapy for that."

"I have it under control for now," Caboose mentioned. "But I do go to Doc from time to time. Every time we finish, he looks like a dead husk for some strange reason, almost like he heard something weird."

"What do you two talk about?"

"Just the sounds of my parents having sex in the middle of the night, or the one time I walked in on my mom as she was stepping out of the shower."

"Okay I don't need to hear anymore," Iowa answered immediately blushing under the helmet. _I can see why Doc would be like a carcass_. But there was something strangely relaxing for Iowa to talk to Caboose like this. He could be drinking with Idaho and the others right now, but most of the time it would just end up with him listening. For once it was nice to have someone else listen to his story with such attentive ears. Too bad for Iowa, he didn't realize that the little hamster wheel in Caboose's mind spun with his imagination on fire zoning in and out of what Iowa was saying.

"You know what Caboose? It's cool talking to you. I can pretty much talk about anything with you and it still ends up being fun."

The blue soldier looked at the ex-Freelancer with a wide smile underneath his helmet. _Welcome to the friends club, best friend number four_. He looked high up with a proud grin. "Neat!"

* * *

Ken watched Siris tap his fingers in impatience who gazed at the news caster with soulless eyes. A woman in her mid thirties presented herself with a clean and professional smile all the while delivering the daily dosage of grim and despair. "The crime rate surrounding the explosions involving space companies, agencies and supply trucks have been on the rise lately. It had seemed that they may have finally decreased for good, but recent reports suggest otherwise. The attacks themselves have multiplied to several locations at a given time and greater in intensity. We have 30 known casualties so far from just yesterday's attacks."

Siris slammed his fist against the desk startling all those closely around him. He gritted his teeth feeling his nerve build up in anger. _Day in and day out, it's same old bullshit. We are trying to do something about it!_ He rested his glabella against his hands and breathed out a sigh to relax his blood pressure. "To think that Cradle of Hope would not be able to get its dormant members active so soon was our grave error. Not just here, but all across the United States they have become very active. What they are doing is a clear cut declaration of war."

He slowly raised his head like an old man and looked to Carolina. "What's the update on that army?"

"The search is going well," she gave some semblance of hope to the ATSG. _About damn time we get some good news_ , thought many in the room. She asked for Church to display the data collected so far on the mission. "We have quite a few numbers on our side. But, and this is a big BUT, there are still plenty more that need to be found. Based on the amount of activity the Cradle of Hope has been engaging in, it's safe to say that our current numbers don't stand a chance. However with at least a few more recruits under our belt, we may just stand a chance against their desire to wage war."

Siris gripped his own hair and began pulling on it in frustration. "We don't have a whole lot of time!"

Everyone in the room went quiet at the sudden rise in his voice. He huffed and puffed. He looked around with some control and managed to calm his stressed mind temporarily. "Everyday these incidents continue, we get closer to the red line. We are already on the brink of being put on the chopping block thanks to influence from external political parties. If we are unable to do anything about these terrorist activities, then it will only hasten our downfall as an organization."

Church crossed his arms and tapped his foot on air. He was just as fed up as the others in the room, but knew that losing their cool now would be overall detrimental. He gripped the sides of his waist and spoke in a very commanding manner. "The guys are doing their best, they are not magicians. They can only do what the ship technology allows them to. The rest is up to whether they get the time or not, so take a chill pill and relax!"

Everyone in the room stared back and forth from Siris to Church. Carolina was surprised at the development as well, but at the same time displeased with Church's outburst as a means of an answer to Siris' frustration. However she was still glad to see that it worked. "I'm sorry about my losing my cool there."

 _The time to act is now_. Ken looked around wondering if he should state his opinion. _But we waste precious time arguing amongst ourselves_. He studied the hesitant eyes of many. To him, they all seemed afraid, even Carolina. Fear held them tightly with the prospect of the unknown strong in their minds. He looked around in disapproval of this attitude and pushed past the others to leave. Ken entered the men's washroom, made sure it was clear and locked the door behind him.

Ken wiped a mirror clean and looked at his own image. _This is against the ATSG rules, but desperate times call for desperate measures_. He gripped his hair and pulled it right off. Underneath was a hair net protecting a healthy crop of short black hair. He ripped off the various adhesive that kept the hair in place and threw the hair net away. He carefully took of the blue eye lenses and threw them in the garbage bin. _You served me well all this time, but now I will see this through to the end not as Ken, but as who I really am_. He looked at his bare dark brown irises and began to peel away at the mask on his face.

Little by little, the sticky paste on his face began to scrape away at the friction from his finger nails. His real skin began to unveil and give it much needed room to breathe. Ken reached to his left for a paper towel and dampened it to provide the finishing clean. Gently, he wiped his face of any leftover face mask and dried it off with another dry paper towel. His eyes fixated at the face that now looked back at him in the mirror. This was the face he grew up with, and the face he locked away behind that façade.

Ken studied the scar on his left cheek that ran down all the way to his chin. _Still as noticeable_ , he smirked recalling the training incident that forever left him with this mark. He cleaned up the area and left the washroom for his room. In his quarters, Ken collected various writing utensils as well as his weapons. He wrote a small note with the intention of passing it onto one he figured would be best to leave it with. Proofreading the note, he left the room for Carolina's. To his surprise however she was there enjoying a glass of wine and a plate of cheese. Upon entry, she nearly jumped at seeing the stranger before her. He defensively raised his arms as she stood up in a battle stance. "Whoa, hold on, it's me, Ken!"

Carolina looked at the young man in front of her in disbelief. "Church?"

"Voice pattern matches," her AI partner confirmed. "It is him. But I gotta say, that scar is looking good on you, buddy."

"I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or legit serious," Ken replied taking out the note. "So why the sudden wine and cheese? That's not for at least another hour for you isn't it?"

"The news didn't exactly leave us feeling all optimistic now did it?" she replied sitting back down. "I figured I may as well drown my sorrow away in a little bit of flavor."

"Well, here," Ken threw down the note her way and turned to leave. But he was quickly stopped by a strong grip. "What is this?"

"It's a note, sort of like insurance. Don't show it to anyone, and don't let anyone come following after me."

"What are you planning Ken?"

"Yeah dude, if it's something insane, I'm sure she wants in," Church mused. "She kind of gets her kicks from doing crazy shit to you know."

"I'm planning something stupid," Ken smirked sending an alert in Carolina's mind. "But something that will hopefully be effective."

* * *

Carolina read the note as Ken departed. Her eyes widened at its content and without a second thought, she followed after leaving the note on the table. Church in her sub-consciousness argued, _I know what you are thinking and it's dumb_. "Like you said, I get my kicks from doing crazy stuff like this."

 _I was kidding_ , he was growing worried about all the various possibilities this could turn out as. _Just stop to think about this for a moment. Inform the others. Ken is making this mistake, don't you make it as well_.

"They are smart, I'm sure they will figure it out."

 _Oh yeah, just wish to the magical wishes granting fairies that they figure it out and come strolling along to help us_. Church was clearly unimpressed by this rash behavior. _I know you like a sense of adventure, but this is going too far. This isn't just some adventure. It's a matter of life and death. Do the smart thing, coordinate a plan with the others and attack_.

"It will take too long," she argued putting on her armor and loaded her weapons with live ammunition. "But it's not like I'm leaving without giving the ATSG a trace to follow."

Carolina activated her beacon that at all times transmitted her position to the base. Church was still against this lone wolf routine, but somewhat eased by the beacon. _You do know just how fucking crazy this still is right?_

"Here we go."

 _Yeah, you know_. Church knew just how silly it felt to believe in a higher being that may or may not exist. But if there is such a being, all he could do now was pray for success. Carolina left the base under the cover of the night and followed Aria's trace all the way to the headquarters. She landed safely and surveyed the area for her comrade. The area was huge. The base was large and filled with many guards all on high alert at all times. Church felt queasy about this and suggested, _still feel like backing out? Because now is the chance sis_. She grinned underneath the helmet and relished the challenge. "Fat chance."

* * *

Ken took out a pair of binoculars and studied the various patrol routes. _It looks like a party down there. Time to go crash it_. He activated the gauntlet and brought up a holographic display of Aria's trace. Ken studied the map and then the real layout of the base. He looked to his right. _Too many guards_. He looked to his left. _Too many guards here as well. My jet boost doesn't last a long time and I risk being seen in the air like that. I'm going to have to knock around a few skulls here if I want to rescue the princess and go home_. He grinned at the prospect of Aria ever acting like a princes. _She would probably break my arm if she heard me say that out loud. Sis was never one to act feminine, no wonder she couldn't get dates for prom nights when we were younger_.

Ken moved out and stuck to the shadows hiding from the moonlight. He took notice of the cameras around the base and moved underneath them. Ken turned a corner but immediately went back as soon as he saw a guard approaching. He stuck up against the wall, and focused his hearing on the guard's footsteps. _He is close_. Ken suddenly turned the corner, punched the guard on the nose and disorientated him. He took him in a tight restraint and knocked the guard unconscious. Ken dragged the limp body away into a hiding spot and dumped it in a bin. The area was clear for now. He activated his gauntlet and saw that the little red dot on the map was stationary. Aria was standing still in a room located nearby. _But how will I get inside?_ He looked around for entrances which were all heavily guarded. There were no grates either leading to underground passages for him to make use of. But then an idea occurred to him. _They never suspect from above_.

Carolina moved towards the red dot herself and knocked out several guards along the way. She did her best to keep it as quiet as possible, but in her excitement, she nearly slipped up alerting someone nearby. The guard came to investigate, but thankfully she was already well hidden. They shook their shoulders and continued monitoring their assigned area. Carolina snuck up behind that guard and blocked his passage to air. He struggled against her grip, but the lack of air made it harder for him to keep up his strength. He reached out for help, but he could shout no words with her hand covering his mouth. He soon faded away and was left in the cold stillness of the night.

Carolina walked up behind two other guards and smashed their heads together. Church noted of her harshness. Carolina defensively whispered. "They are getting off easy. Be thankful I'm not going on a rampage breaking bones."

 _I guess that is worse_ , he noted still putting up quite a resistance to her thrill seeking adventure. _Watch your right, camera up above_. Carolina stopped in her tracks and hid behind a cover. She poked her head out upon Church's command and noticed the small electrical device swiveling left and right. "Nice catch."

 _I have found Ken_ , Church said marking it on her HUD map. Carolina eyed the map on the bottom right of her visor and looked in the general direction of his location. She moved through various little pathways until she was closer. Carolina hid herself away upon seeing Ken standing atop a rooftop. Church began to question Ken's sanity as well now. _I know you are crazy for this sort of stuff Sis, but him to? What is he thinking standing out in the open like that?!_

Ken placed several explosives around himself at a fair bit of distance in a circle. He centered himself and looked at the blinking lights. Please _let this work, we are so close to one another now sis_. He activated the button on his gauntlet and the devices began beeping. Aria moved underneath the spot he stood on. She signaled for her troops to stop upon hearing a faint noise. Ken activated the charges, with a loud thermal explosion the metal roof gave away. He jumped down and slashed one of her guards' in the arm. He stole the weapon and knocked the guard on the forehead with its butt. Acting quickly, Ken kicked the other guard down and dismantled the weapons. Just as he was about to go for his sister, she held him at gunpoint to his chest.

* * *

"That was his grand plan?" Carolina face palmed as she heard the intruder alarms echo through every inch of the base. It didn't take long for Carolina to be discovered who for once wanted to keep her head down. The guards quickly converged on her location. She drew her rifle and open fired dealing several non-fatal injuries. She found new and more effective cover to hide behind. "So you boys want to dance? I will show you how to dance."

The two sides opened fire, emptying their guns, reloading and repeating. The guards suffered the casualties, and Carolina played it safe only coming out when necessary to accurately nail her targets. She looked at the last clip left and sighed. "Let's make this one count."

Aria reached out slowly towards the hood. Ken remained still. His heart beat hastened at the prospect of looking at one another eye to eye. She hesitated at first, but quickly overcame the feelings to know just who her enemy is that claimed to be her brother for she recognized the armor and the voice. Aria rested the gun's barrel against his chest armor where it could easily pierce through his rib cage. She slowly pulled down the hood and backed away wide eyed. "A- Alexavier?"

"Sister."

Ken's concealed, and true identity was now engraved in enemy eyes. He slowly lowered his arms as she lowered the pistol. He held out a hand for her to take. "I'm here for you sis."

"What are you doing here, and why are you wearing that combat armor?!"

"I'm here for you," he replied. "The only reason I have worn this thing is to find you, and make sure that no one can stop us as we leave this damned fight behind us."

"Leave?" she asked as other guards suddenly entered interrupting the conversation to Alexavier's annoyance. She studied the scar on his cheek and was horrified at the sight. _What could you have been doing all this time to cause such an injury?_ She motioned for the guards to arrest the assassin. Without a struggle, he let himself be hand cuffed as she guaranteed his safety. Aria turned to another group of guards and motioned for them to spread out. "Search the perimeter for any other intruders. He might not have been alone."

The guards holding Alex captive looked at their leader for orders. She pointed behind them and said. "Take him to the holding cells. Strip him of his armor and weaponry. I want to talk to him later."

As she watched him disappear from her sight, she sighed in confusion and concern. _Why are you here as an assassin Alex?_

Carolina studied the last bullet exit her rifle's barrel. _All dry?_ She threw away the rifle and drew the pistol. Each shot hit the target and discouraged the enemy. But the growing numbers did not help encourage any sense of forward momentum and progress.

Click! Click!

 _Oh you have got to be kidding me_. She reached for the magazine on her side. But before she could load the clip in, she was tackled down to the ground. The clip slid away from her in the struggle and she lost her weapon. She punched the guard off of her and left him squirming in pain. She stood up raising her fists in front of her and cracked her neck. "Okay, so you guys want to get intimate."

"Please stop with the cheesy one liners," Church begged as he counted the enemy numbers. "There are at least thirty here."

"Only thirty?"

"Don't get cocky sis," he reminded her and she breathed deeply. "I don't get cocky."

"That's arguable," Church mumbled as the guards began their approach. Many came in swinging hard. But Carolina ducked and dodged every attack and landed hard, impactful blows on their abdomens, jaws, noses and crotches. Several guards who dared to cross paths with her were quickly made to meet their unfortunate and painful fate. She kept up the fight for a long time. The guards began to worry about their chances of victory. Even though they had the numbers, she herself was the walking talking embodiment of a badass warrior. But even as badass as she was, she too had her human limits. Her mind grew tired, and her muscles ached from the heavy usage.

She flipped over one guard and pinned two against the wall with a thrust. Carolina activated her jets and jumped through the crowd hoping to escape. Four generals looked at the bustle down below with their arms crossed, and faces amused. The enemy began jumping in the air in an attempt to catch her. Sooner than she expected, she slipped and was caught by one guard. She hit the back of her head hard against the ground. Her painful grunt sent signals of confidence to the enemy. They could do this. Rather than attacking with one, two, or three people at a time, they all ganged up on her jumping atop her well built form. Church panicked informing her of her low power supply. "The shields are going to give out soon, figure something out!"

"I'm trying to!" Carolina stood up against all odds and pushed everyone off of her. She activated the speed module and broke several knees in the process. As she prepared to leave, she was tripped by a new group of guards. Carolina went tumbling down to the ground face first. _Fuck!_ She stood up with blurry vision and gritted her teeth for the punch coming her way. With a hard impact, her face went twisting to her right.

The generals jumped down hoping to join in on the fray. The group of four guards all ganged up on her landing several notable blows. Her armor absorbed most of it, but the ones that did make it through left a lasting impact. She wanted to call upon the healing unit, but it was clear that Church was in no condition to aid her. He was tired. He felt that he was being pushed too much. He tried to contemplate the various possibilities his algorithms would allow, but all ended in their failure. Carolina swung her arm wide and with a loud thud she hit one guard on the cheek bone. That guard fell down, and upon encouragement from the others, they all landed equally dangerous kicks on her helmet. Carolina kneeled down feeling the disorientation at its strongest now.

"Now, let's do it!" shouted one guard as the others followed to beat her with their fists until she was finally subdued. The generals made it to the location only to be disappointed. Kai noticed one of the soldiers retrieving their fists from Carolina's face. "Tch, lucky bastard."

"Not bad boys," Kabira complimented. "Keep this up and you may just be due for a promotion."

"Enough talk," Dallas motioned for the group of nearby guards to continue patrolling. He pointed to two guards out of the four responsible for her defeat. "Make sure she isn't transmitting any information. Once you are done with that, take her to Aria. I'm sure she would love to see Creed's killer in the flesh just as much as we do."

The two soldiers saluted. They picked her up and dragged her off into the young night for her encounter, and to a test of will.

* * *

 **A/N: More development, dun, dun, dah! Also, music suggestion "The Shadows Betray You" from The Dark Knight Rises OST. Start playing it at the fifth break line when Ken is infiltrating the headquarters.  
**

 **So what do you think will happen now?**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed.**

 **Thanks for reading, I appreciate the support! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	9. Philosophy & Torture

**Chapter 8: Philosophy & Torture**

Aria rubbed her hand on the young assassin's gauntlets. She eyed it with intrigue and was impressed by the craftsmanship of the weapons. The generals stood all around her ensuring the safety of the room in the midst of the recent break in attempt. Aria leaned against the table with a wide smile. _You are here now with me_. Adrian noticed the change in her attitude and felt it to be more than a hindrance he felt he was willing to tolerate. He eyed the entrance as two guards entered carrying a body in their hands. The unconscious ex-Freelancer was dragged into the room numb to the situation around her. Two more guards followed after them. It was the group responsible for subduing Carolina.

Dallas looked at the group of young soldiers and nodded his head. "Thank you for your valiant efforts."

Aria looked behind from the side of her right eye and approached the cyan warrior. She bent down to remove the helmet and was surprised to find a woman underneath. The rest of the generals were surprised as well. From all that they heard, they were sure that it was going to be a man. Aria reached out for Carolina's stray orange hair strand and brushed it to the side. She leaned in close eyeing every single detail on Carolina's skin. She stared the guard to her right. "Did you four check to see if she is transmitting any data or not?"

A sudden silence took the guards who looked to one another for a response. The generals knew just how badly the guards shook in their shoes right now from this mistake. Aria stood up glaring to all. "This one mistake can very well cost us our headquarters, and put our whole operation in jeopardy."

"But-"

Before one guard could get another word in, Aria strangled him until he was left essentially begging for air with the swings of his arms. The others bowed their heads and remained quiet as Aria looked towards her generals. "Strip this intruder of her armor, everything must come off. Then, throw her in the holding cells. The armor will be sent to the ground floor tech labs for study. Tell them to disrupt any potential data transmission as well in the process."

 _Oh no_ , Church became alert at the prospect of being discovered. He for safety measures quickly activated hibernation mode as well as the various firewalls of the suit to help keep any curious minds out. He kept the various communication channels open transmitting Carolina's position in a loop. Two generals took Carolina and dragged her away out of sight. Aria glared back to the guards and tightened her grip on the guard's neck. "Now then, as for you four…"

Aria released the guard as he hit the floor hard coughing for air. He held his neck in desperation and fear. He looked up with terrified eyes. She pointed to all four of them and then to two soldiers outside the room listening to her orders. "Take these four, and send them to the re-education camp."

"No, please not there," one guard begged as he was restrained from approaching Aria. The others were dragged away but one firmly stood his ground. "Please, just kills us here, but don't send us to that hell!"

Kai pushed back the one standing firmly with his superior strength. "Move it pal, we don't have all day."

"No, please!" the guard shouted as he was kicked out of the room. "Don't do this ma'am!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Kai rubbed his ears in irritation as he pushed the guard forward. The terrified screams echoed throughout the base. It was a sign to the others to never cross Aria in the wrong ways. As the screams slowly died down, Adrian found satisfaction in the powerful display of her superiority. _If only she could be like this at all times_. He could not help but wonder methods to make her adore and adopt this persona at all times. He looked at the gauntlets and then out the room. _To gain some things, one must give up some things. You will have to give up something to be an absolute force not to be reckoned with Aria. I will see to it that you give it up for the sake of the organization_.

* * *

Chloe slowly walked the quiet halls of the ATSG base. She studied every corner, and wall looking for that one young man with red cheeks. _What will I say now that I went ahead and told him all those things in private the last time?_ She finally reached his room and firmly knocked on his door. There was no response. With another loud knock on the metal door, she swung the heavy door open with great effort. _I have never understood why they bothered having these types of doors in here. It's like a safe door_. She walked into the empty room and studied any hints of his presence. _No one is here?_ Chloe walked out and to the next best place she could think of, Carolina's room.

Upon entry, she found the ex-Freelancers room empty as well. Much concern arose in the back of her mind now. There were no signs of their departure in the base logs. Everyone had to always sign out and sign back in when leaving or entering the base. _So what gives here?_ She paced within the room to study for any clues. There was no struggle in the room, Carolina's things were still here and it most certainly didn't look like she just got up and left the ATSG. But then she found that note, the one note Alex had prepared for Carolina alone. She slowly read it in a whisper and her jaw dropped wide open. _That idiot!_

Chloe rushed out to the main room of the base. Siris noticed the hurried pace at which Chloe approached him in. He raised an eyebrow at the angered expression she wore. "What's wrong Chloe?"

She held out the note for him. He took it with curiosity and slight worry. His eyes scanned every line carefully and widened in a fury of emotions. "What the hell is this?"

Chloe rested her hands on her waist and looked down at the ground. Both of them were equally angered and fed up with fate spitting in their faces. Siris slammed his fist against the desk nearly making Chloe skip a heartbeat. "I don't need any more shit on my plate!"

Siris threw the note to the side and kicked the chair in front of him. "I already have enough things to worry about as it is. What the hell was he even thinking?!"

"That's not all," Chloe spoke cautiously earning a stern glare from her senior. "I- It seems like Carolina is missing to."

Siris felt all the heat in his body leave. He felt like a cold statue, completely devoid of life. He broke out into a pathetic laughter. "Just great, the one person who is vital for our plan to work with the reds and the blues has gone missing. That's bloody brilliant."

Siris gripped the edges of the table and gritted his teeth. _I know you are desperate Ken, but this is just asinine_. _I taught you to be better than some reckless amateur_. He rested his forehead in his hands and breathed heavily. _What do we do now?!_

Chloe rested a hand on his shoulder asking the same question. He bit his lower lip in frustration. One another ATSG member in the room watched silently, letting Chloe handle Siris. The soldier as well racked his mind against the possibilities. Siris shoved Chloe's hand away in a fit of anger. "Instead of trying to ask me what to do next, why don't you try coming up with something?! I don't have all the god damned answers Chloe!"

"Calm down!" she shouted in response. "The fact that you are losing your cool like this will derail everything. You are our support pillar Siris."

Siris wiped the sweat off of his nose and breathed deeply. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I…I don't know. All I know is that we need to stop them."

"It probably is a little too late for that," the ATSG soldier spoke up and further explained. "They are probably at their destination by now. They would have either been captured, or have succeeded by now."

"How can you say that with certainty?" Chloe questioned the man's confidence. But he simply shook his shoulders and said. "The Ken I know is smart and very proactive in his thinking as well as planning. Where were they headed?"

"The Cradle of Hope headquarters."

"Oh shit," the ATSG soldier exclaimed nearly going into shock. "Never mind, in this case he was being plain stupid."

Siris bit on his nail as he looked at the computer monitor. All of a sudden the memory of the bug planted on Aria surfaced. "The trace!"

Siris moved to the corresponding control panel for the transmitter and brought up the signal. His facial expression softened a little at the active signals. "Looks like Aria's is still being tracked. Carolina is still transmitting as well."

"What about Ken?" Chloe inquired jumping against the chair occupied by Siris. He groaned in annoyance at her obtrusive action. Siris typed a few keys to access their real time data tracking database. There was no entry for tonight. Siris checked the back ups in case they had been erased from the production database. There was nothing there. _This can't be right_. He looked back slowly. "I'm sorry Chloe. I can't find anything for his trace. It's completely dead."

Siris could see the immediate concern on Chloe's face. He was quick to react to the infectious concern. Siris gently rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry Chloe, they will be found. Plus, they will have a lot of explaining to do as well, both to you and me."

* * *

In a long stretched hallway, Aria and Adrian walked towards the prison cells. Aria studied the condition of the area, it was satisfactory. She approached the guard standing by the cell who saluted her as a sign of respect. The guard stepped to the side. Adrian stood behind Aria leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes studied the young man inside the prison cell, who lazily lied on the bed with his hands crossed behind his head. Adrian scoffed for the prisoner to wake up, clearly not impressed by what he saw. _This is her brother? What a joke to be caught so easily. He must not be very smart_. Aria glared back at him, and softened her eyes turning back to Alex.

Alex opened his eyes and stared at the group in silence. Aria warmly smiled causing him to revert his gaze. _That is the smile I remember of you sis_. He sat up and stretched his neck. Alex cautiously walked towards the bar with arms crossed. _I don't remember you for being some crazy terrorist hell bent on destroying society_. He looked behind her at the guard and the old man. "I see you brought your escort along."

Adrian stepped forward raising a finger. "Listen here you disrespectful little ATSG rat-"

He was held back by Aria who motioned for him to head back behind her. "Alex, this is just between you and me, they won't interfere. You have my word on that."

The young assassin let his arms fall to his side and paced in his cell. "We will see."

"I have kept my word about no harm coming to you so far, haven't I?"

"So far, yes."

Aria closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let's just begin. Why are you a part of the ATSG Alex, and how did you get your training?"

Alex stopped to look deep into Aria's eyes and inched closer. "I joined to find you."

Aria's mouth nearly dropped open, somewhat flattered by his sincere voice. But that didn't answer her questions. He looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists. "I was first invited when you left me just like our parents, only my mentor was there for me. He picked me up off the streets and gave me a chance to find you after the police did fuck all."

"He was the source of your training as well?"

"Yes," Alex held up a hand before Aria could speak. "Before you say anything, I chose to kill, I was never forced to. If it meant finding you, then I was ready to do so at that time. I still am."

"Even if that target was me?"

Alex remained quiet looking away with the scratch of his hair. He shook his head and looked back to Aria. "Look, all I wanted all this time was for us to meet one another again and get away from all this fighting. I want for the two of us to lead a peaceful life, I want for us both to just run away together."

 _This brat_ , Adrian gritted his teeth, fearful at the prospects of losing his own grip on Aria. He wanted to step in between the two of them, shun the idea of running away and drag her away. But to his relief he did not need to. Aria herself told Alex her absolute answer. "I can't, I was never raised for that purpose."

 _Never raised for that purpose?_ Alex gave her a quizzical look. "What are you talking about?"

"Tell me little brother, did you never find it strange on how our parents treated us differently?"

Alex thought hard about it, but could find no instance of truth in her words. She recalled one very prominent memory. "Do you remember when our parents took you to the movies and not me?"

"Yeah."

"That is just one instance. They did so because in the confines of our home, I was being bred to take up the mantle for Cradle of Hope."

"I would have noticed if something wrong was happening with you!"

"Who said it was wrong?" Aria suggested with a raised eyebrow. She smiled and recalled all the times she experienced the more brutal side of her parents upon failure. She rubbed her left cheek. _This side of the face suffered the most from their punishments_. She looked back to Alex and said. "You were the only one who was unconditionally kind to me in our family. If anything, there were times where I wished it was just the two of us and no one else. In my childish naivety, I used to think that we could survive together alone. Oh how foolish I was to think so. We both got to experience that upon our parent's death after all."

"That still doesn't explain why you said 'bred'."

"You are right," Aria nodded her head gently and held the bars. She reached inside wanting to lovingly hold her brother. "It's because ever since my birth, my sole purpose according to what our parents have guided me towards has been to change this world through Cradle of Hope. I will change this world."

She holds out her hand and smiles happily. "I can finally tell you all these things. Our parents made me promise to never tell you any of this, to let you lead a normal life."

"Why?"

"I don't know, and honestly I don't care anymore. I kept quiet in the past to respect their last will. Now, that we are here like this I could care no more about such trivialities. Alex, join me."

Instantly the young man shook his head. He stepped back from his sister almost shocking her. "What you are doing, and trying to coax me into is not reformation of the world, but the destruction of the very fundamentals that help build society."

"Destruction?" she gripped the cell's bars and her mouth fell open at his words. "I'm reforming the world. We fight to change the very world that everyone else is slowly letting die off. We are fighting to protect this and many other planets, to ensure peace, but also bring back humanity on the right path!"

"You mean your path."

"The path we were all meant to take!"

"But that is what the people in higher positions of this organization think," Alex argued holding his ground. "And those who follow are simply deluded to think that this is the only way. You say you are fighting to change humanity and protect the universe. You are fighting for peace, but what peace can there be if there is conflict? The reformation you talk about is a contradiction in itself. It is a path leading only to destruction."

"Listen to this nonsense you utter," Aria backed off from the bars in a laugh. "Do you even hear your own words?"

"Yes I do," he replied glaring towards her. "True reformation comes from a mutual understanding, not some change that is forced onto others. Because then it's simply a dictatorship."

"Then why have you sullied your hands in red all this time just to find me?"

"I had no intention of mutual understanding sis," Alex lowered is head as a sign of respect for all the lives he has taken. "My only goal was to find you by any means necessary. What happened after that was up to those willing to continue the fight."

"Well congratulations, you have found me! Now I'm still giving you this opportunity, stand by my side and join us. Pledge your allegiance to us Alex by telling me all that you know about the ATSG! You can become a part of a greater revolution than any other in our history."

Alex shook his head and refused her pleading. "The ATSG is the one thing that stands in the way of the world and this organization's deluded ideals. I'm not about to just bend over for you. You will get nothing from me."

Aria stared at her brother in disbelief. "What happened to the Alex I knew?"

"People change with time."

"Evidently so," she replied in a very discouraged voice. But then nodded to Adrian who left and Aria looked down at the floor with a heavy breath. "I didn't want it to come to this. Whether you tell us or not Alex it doesn't matter, we will get this information in due time. Perhaps your comrade, that soldier of Project Freelancer will be able to help speed up the process."

 _Carolina is captured, she followed me?!_ Alex rushed towards the cell's bars. "Don't do anything to her!"

"You have left me with no choice," replied the organization leader. She glared Alex deep into his eyes and made her ultimatum. "You should stand by my side. It is our family's right to do so. Our parents have made it so. But if you continue to ally yourself with the ATSG and engage us, then you will become my enemy personally little brother. This kindness you receive now will be no more and if need be, I will kill you with my bare hands. No matter what the others think or say, our cause is justified and will be for it benefits humanity long term. People are so short sighted that they let a few sacrifices release the fear in them running wild."

Aria turned to leave. Alex reached out of the prison bars in desperation. "Please, don't do anything rash sister!"

"You were given a choice," shouted Aria as she neared the exit door. "Now your decision will realize the consequences onto someone else!"

* * *

"Carolina's missing?!" Washington nearly had a heart attack. He leaned close in disbelief towards the monitor as Siris sat back in his chair uncomfortably. Sarge helped pull Wash back and gave him some time to calm down. "So you must be that Siris fella that Church kept going on about before."

"Um, yes my name is Siris. Nice to meet you all," he scanned all those behind Sarge and Wash. _So these are the people who are our only hope_. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "I was instructed by Church to contact all of you should Carolina be unable to communicate. I wanted to give an update on her situation so as not to leave you all in the dark."

"What happened to her?" asked Simmons. Siris shook his head in frustration. "One of my men, and her did something stupid is what happened. They went to infiltrate the main base of the terrorists. I don't know why they did it all by themselves, but this is reality. We don't know what exactly happened to her aside from a theory of potential capture."

"Well we should go rescue her!" Tucker instantly spoke up with Caboose raising his fist behind the aqua soldier. "Yeah, let's go rescue our friend!"

"Hold on guys," Matthews and the Chorus soldiers said. Matthews waited for the silence to return before he continued and gained their complete attention. "We are nowhere near Earth, and we still have the pressing need to complete our own mission first."

"Matthews has got a point," Grif acknowledged getting many surprised looks. "What?"

"Nothing sir, it's just we never thought you would agree on something with Matthews," explained Andersmith. But not all of them were going to be so easily persuaded. Tucker walked forward towards Grif and the Chorus soldiers and pointed a figure at them. "How can you guys even say that?! Clearly you don't care about her!"

"Hey, cool it man!" Grif pushed Tucker back. Simmons stepped in between the two and kept them at a distance. With a calm breath he chimed in. "I get what you are feeling Tucker, she means a lot to me as well. But what Matthews has said is the right thing to do. We risk a lot by going to Earth right now."

"Then what do you suggest we do? We just sit here and twiddle our fucking thumbs?!"

"Relax!" Wash raised his voice silencing everyone. "We continue with our mission. Siris, I'm choosing to trust the ATSG in getting this resolved."

"We will do our best."

The blue ex-freelancer turned around to the BGC. "Our mission is too great of importance to give up on. Carolina may not be so keen on forgiveness either if we just abandon everything for her rescue mission."

Iowa noticed the downed mood on Caboose from his lack of movements, and constant stare at the floor. Iowa rested a hand on Caboose's shoulder and shook him out of his saddened trance. "Don't worry Caboose, we will help find Carolina as well when we reach Earth, she is our friend to. Maybe we will get to meet her right away anyways."

Idaho and Ohio raised their hands in encouragement. Ohio smiled underneath the helmet. "You got that right Iowa. No matter what happens, we all have got to stick together. We are all that we have after all."

"I understand," Siris replied happy to see such energy and determination. "You focus on your mission. I promise you all, by the time you make it to Earth; she will be back safe and sound. No matter what happens, we will find her."

* * *

"You know what to do right," Adrian leaned in close to a group of guards who nodded their heads. "Good, do whatever is necessary. But remember, don't go too far. I only want you all to break the prisoner's will until he begs for death and nothing more."

"We understand sir."

"Good," Adrian wore a most sinister smile. "Do this, and your promotions within the organization will be secured."

"Adrian!"

The old man turned around to see Aria waving him over. He motioned for the guards to leave and he followed after her. She walked down the prison section to the cell holding their esteemed guest, the ex-freelancer soldier. From a fair bit of distance, the two could hear the sounds of fists beating against bare skin. Adrian scoffed in irritation. "It seems that someone is already busy working on her."

"I will bet its Kai," Aria smirked finally reaching the cell. By the wall to the very back, she noticed the orange haired woman with her hands tied against the wall in chains. Everything but her underwear was off. Bruises were evident all over her body from Kai's beatings. Aria turned back to Adrian with a wide smile. "What I tell you?"

Aria walked inside with every general standing up to salute her. As Kai was about to deliver another punch, Aria stopped him upon seeing her spit up blood. "Alright tiger, that's enough, time to bring it down several notches."

Kai nearly jumped out of his shoes as he heard Aria's voice behind him. He stood up haphazardly and saluted her much to the amusement of Kabira. He shot her a glare furthering her enjoyment. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't hear you coming in."

"I bet you didn't," Aria walked around Kai and bent down towards Carolina. "Not when you decided to go to town on her. Kai, I still need her, you do realize that right?"

"Ah, yeah, my bad."

"Then learn to control that impatience and brashness of yours," Aria stood back up and stared at her colleague. "You always end up going too far."

Kai backed away to join in line with the other generals. Aria bent back down and lifted Carolina's head. She studied the ex-freelancer's well built body riddled with scars and injuries. _She must have seen some good action in her life_. Aria motioned Carolina's head from one side to the other. Her bruises weren't so bad. But it was clear that Carolina struggled hard against the forces of others. "Listen, I will only ask this once. Tell me everything you know about the ATSG."

A spit of red came smashing against Aria's left cheek. She closed her eyes as small bouts of anger spiked. Aria looked back to her generals and stood up with a heavy sigh. "Get out, all of you."

Against Aria's orders, only Adrian chose to remain. She gave him a demanding look. "I told everyone to leave."

"And I'm staying, you can't make me leave. It is important that I be here."

"Important you say," she laughed at the suggestion. "Fine, do as you please."

Aria walked over to a table of tools on one side of the cell. Carolina looked at the serious look on Aria's face as she studied the various devices. Her vision blurred from the damage, but she struggled to hold on. Little did she know that it would have simply been better for her to pass out. Aria held up a knife with a most vile look in her eyes. Slowly she inched closer, and jerked up Carolina's chin with the pointed end of the knife. "So is the little rabbit going to talk?"

She bent down beside Carolina's right hand and aimed the knife at her trigger finger. "Come on hun, one last chance. It's not really a bad deal. You talk, and the torture goes away."

Carolina sealed her lips tightly. She gritted her teeth ready for the inevitable pain. Aria understood her determination, and as a sign of sincerity she delivered on her threat. She stabbed the knife through the skin, the muscles and eventually the cracking bones. For the last bit of connection left to her hand, Aria sliced through the finger painting the small portion of her hand in red. Carolina's now dead finger fell to the floor, completely lifeless. She stared in horror having completely lost the feeling in her right hand. She gritted her teeth moaning in pain, nearly to the point of shedding tears. Aria stood up taking the finger and waving it around spilling blood on the floor. "I will ask again, tell me what you know!"

Carolina remained quiet. Aria threw the finger away at the wall and gritted her teeth. She looked down at the smooth skin on Carolina's arms. "You are making this so much more difficult than it needs to be my little prisoner."

The leader bent down and slowly sliced into her skin. Carolina's lips quivered at the sharp sting, the burning skin that felt like ten spears went through her body. Aria slowly shifted the knife's direction from vertical to horizontal. She increased the speed which she dismembered the flesh at. Blood dripped out from the open wound. Aria ripped the skin away with her bare hand and flapped it around in front of Carolina. "See this? This is because you are weak and pathetic!"

Aria stood up and paced back and forth. She threw the flap of dead skin at Carolina's face. "To be caught like this would make your father very disappointed I'm sure. Not that you were worth much to him to begin with I'm sure. For all the reports of the 'badass' freelancers we got, you are nothing special."

Aria gripped Carolina's hair tightly and smashed the back of her skull against the wall. "You are no badass. You are just a little girl prancing around in a suit of armor, still angry at her mother's disappearance."

Carolina looked up in surprise. Aria was not one to miss this expression. "Oh yes my little prisoner, we did our research into you. I must admit, there were some very interesting things we found out in the process."

Aria played with the knife almost as if indirectly threatening Carolina. "So tell me one thing, I have been very curious to find out. My brother has never had the physical attributes, or the mental determination to join something like the ATSG. Did you seduce him, or perhaps you are that mentor he spoke of?"

Aria hit Carolina's head with the hilt when she noticed Carolina's eyes slowly closing. "Pay fucking attention! My brother would never have taken another person's life so easily. Did you train him to be an assassin?! He was always raised in a sheltered environment, like he was our parent's favorite."

Aria glared towards Carolina with the tilt of her head. "But the only way he could have become a killer, and one to disobey me no less is if a hussy like you or some other bitch seduced him into power perhaps."

Aria's eyebrows raised in curiosity. She bent down and wiped some hair away from Carolina's face. "Now that I think about it, we do look somewhat similar. I wonder if you used that against him."

Carolina flicked Aria's hand away with the jerk of her head. Aria could not help but smile at the still feisty attitude. Carolina gritted her teeth trying to work her words through the pain. "I haven't done anything. Maybe you just don't realize what the reality is."

Angered by her words, Aria swiftly cut off another piece of flesh from Carolina. The woman jerked in pain, finally letting out a loud scream to echo through the halls. She moved in for another, but Adrian quickly restrained her. "Stop, going any further right now would be extremely dangerous. We need her alive!"

Aria stopped fighting against his strength and threw the knife away and slapped Carolina on the cheek. "Count your lucky stars bitch."

She stood up and walked towards the exit door. "Before I go, let me impart these words. Think carefully about what you may want to say to me the next time we come to talk. Until then, enjoy your stay."

* * *

Four guards approached Alex's cell. One of them motioned for the guard outside to open the door. "What's going on?"

"Can't say pal," one of them responded. "We have strict orders from the leader."

The guard looked at the bunch with suspicion. They were quick to put on the pressure on this one man faced with many others. "Come on, just open the door. I don't think you would like explaining to her why the task wasn't completed on time any more than we would."

"I have strict orders to not anyone else but the leader through," the guard replied with the four growing impatient at the negotiations. One approached the guard and patted him on his arm. "Look bud, check with Adrian. He will vouch for us. In fact, I'm sure he will question why you even bothered checking in the first place and waste everyone's time."

Frightened by the thought of what Adrian may do to him, he submitted. "Fine, wait here."

The guards all laughed it off together telling him that he made a wise choice. The prison guard reached for his keys, and swiped them by the card reader to the side of the prison bars. Alex who heard the commotion noticed the four guards enter and surround him as his back hit the wall. Alex looked from one guard to the next as they clenched their fists, and tightened their poses. "Don't hold this against us."

One swung his arm, Alex bent down and uppercut the man. Another swung their leg hitting the young assassin on his torso. Alex's back hit against the wall with a loud thud, he felt his legs shake from the impact as he slowly stood back up. Another guard did a tight hook carrying much power. The impact swung Alex's jaw followed by his face to the left. Alex blocked the next low blow and elbowed the attacking guard. He quickly recovered and extended both his fists to his sides hitting two guards in the nose. They stumbled back with hiding the pain behind their teeth.

The guard outside looked inside at the rowdy noises. "What's going on in here?!"

He rushed inside to help the young man, but was tripped by one of the guards and found his own comrades turning on him. One removed his helmet and another punched him hard on the back of his skull until he passed out. Alex raised his fists jumping from side to side. One of the guards cracked their neck with an adrenalin pumped grin. "I see you are having fun."

"I can do this all day long pal," said Alex wiping some sweat. The other guards agreed that he probably could, and that they required an advantage. All of them pulled out a baton, activated a switch and electrified the tips. _Oh great_ , Alex dodged one swing, then the next and the next. He rolled away from the group to the one farthest away from them. He swept the floor with a hard kick and knocked the guard down. Alex was quick to knock the guard unconscious. He reached for the baton and fought off the three remaining guards. Alex slithered between two guards who swung wide. Just before the batons made contact, he ducked and watched the two guards get electrocuted. But before he could focus his attention on the remaining guards, he found himself on the receiving end of the shocking treatment.

Alex fell to his knees breathing erratically. The guard that presided over him slapped his torso again with the baton, sending more shocks throughout the young man's body. Alex fell to the floor in a fury of jolts. The two guards who had electrocuted one another stood up and held their head to subside the pain. They both rushed towards Alex and each landed a firm kick to his back. Alex groaned in pain as he went tumbling down to the floor. Without any hesitation or remorse, the guards proceeded to beat him senseless. So hard that his skin eventually bruised, and swelled. His vision was becoming a blur, and his mind was going blank. The only thing his eyes could comprehend was a blindingly white light that began to be consumed by a surrounding darkness.

All air had escaped him, his breaths became erratic and desperate. The guards didn't stop upon hearing the struggling breathing. The darkness neared the center of his vision, leaving only a small dot of light. But that to with time was gone. His eyes closed and his mouth remained open. His body went completely limb and his mind laid dormant. The guards stopped in worry. One bent down to check his vitals. "Phew, still alive."

"Hah, that would have been fucked up if we killed him," another guard joked. The third guard agreed. "Yeah, I'm sure she would have probably cut off our hands if she heard her valued prisoner died."

"That's not funny man," the one checking the vital stood up to go for the other two guards on the floor. He checked his friend who was still breathing, and so was the one guarding the prison cell. "Alright, let's call it in. I want to get in on that promotion as soon as possible. Someone take him to the infirmary."

One guard picked up their comrade and left for the infirmary. The other two left Alex and the prison guard on the floor. The one who helped break Alex's defenses stretched his neck. "Let's just hope Bob is able to forgive us for knocking him out like that. Maybe a bribe will be enough to help keep his mouth shut."

* * *

Around the large holographic table in the ATSG base's dimly lit main room, there stood the entire crew ready for a briefing. Siris stood by the table controls and pressed a few buttons to bring up a display of the main headquarters of their enemies. "You may all have heard rumors of our current development with Ken. What you have heard is true. His capture, as well as Carolina's is something of big priority for us. We need to get them back."

Chloe looked around at the soldiers, eager to head out on the mission and rescue their comrade. Siris pointed to a small building and said. "This building is the main headquarters for Cradle of Hope, at least the American branch. They run a front of an insurance company to help keep any curious eyes away. But under the cover of the night and in more secluded areas of the building they would no doubt be planning, preparing and indoctrinating their new initiates."

"Siris," Chloe called out upon noticing the red blinking suddenly disappear. The man looked at her with a quizzical look. She pointed to the main computer screen. His mouth nearly dropped wide open. He rushed over to the keyboard and inserted several commands to try and restore the signal. "It's dead…they must have found out about Carolina's transmitter."

"Shit, what do we do now?!"

"Relax Chloe," Siris held up a hand of authority as he took a moment to think. "We know their last known location. The best thing to do right now would be to recon the area the signal disappeared in. Fortunately it's right in the enemy's main base."

"Who will go?" asked one of the soldiers. Siris looked around the room and said. "All of us will go."

"All?" asked another soldier not sure about this idea. "Shouldn't we have some or at least one stay behind to protect the base?"

"Don't worry," Siris reassured the whole gang. "When I say all, I mean most. We can't afford having our bases compromised."

Everyone agreed with a loud and confident reply. Chloe thanked everyone in her mind for agreeing to this mission so willfully. Siris held up a finger over his lips. "But remember to keep your mouths shut about this from any external authorities or people. We will move in pairs to ensure no one else gets so easily captured."

"We get a better idea of their base operations and architecture that way, right?"

"Yes," Siris replied to one of his colleagues. "Remember guys, with this we have a plan of action and the determination. We will rescue our comrades."

"When does the mission start?" Chloe asked impatiently. "I'm ready to go right now."

"We will commence the mission in two days time."

"Two days?!"

"We need time to prepare certain resources Chloe," Siris reminded her hoping for her to realize her own impatience and begin acting like a professional again. "Without these resources, we will never be able to succeed."

Understandably Chloe backed down and nodded her head. The group dispersed and Siris was left to take care of certain logistics, and report manipulation to ensure nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the government.

* * *

Soldiers saluted their leader as she rushed through the hallways with loud footsteps. She ran and turned a corner to the hospital area. She stopped by the door to the hospital ward earning a sharp stare from the doctor. He held his finger up to his mouth. She apologized but hurried over to Alex's bedside. She nearly choked at the sight. His face was somewhat swollen, bruised and his body looked completely beaten. She rested the back of her right hand on his left cheek, and gently smothered it down to his chin. _Whoever did this to you, they will pay_.

She turned her attention to the awakening guard. Aria held the bars to the sides of his bed and leaned over to notice his eyes slowly open. He instantly awakened upon seeing her face and nearly fell out of bed.

"Easy there."

"I- I'm sorry ma'am."

Aria sat down by his bedside and leaned closer. "Who did this to you two?"

The guard rested his head back trying to remember the faces through the pain. "It was four guards."

"Do you remember their names?"

"Yes."

"Tell me," Aria leaned even closer with an intense stare. He bit his lower lip, jogging his memory with pain. "Y- You won't mention my name to them will you ma'am?"

"You have my word. The identity of my informant will be a secret, and you will be protected alongside him," Aria motioned to her brother. Confident in her words, he leaned closer to her ear and whispered their names. Aria nodded and sat back. "Thank you. I will see to it that they are dealt with adequately."

She stood up and thanked the doctor for his work. She left to cross check the names she received, the ranks of the soldiers and their faces. Out in the hallway she asked around for the four soldiers and eventually found them all together conversing amongst themselves. She slowly approached the group who immediately tensed up upon notice. They stood in a straight line and saluted her.

"At ease men."

The four guards looked at one another from the sides of their eyes. They all wondered equally why she was there to talk to them. Aria marched back and forth from one end of the line to the other. "So I saw my prisoner, and the prison guard lying in the hospital ward. Would any of you like to explain that?"

"We do-"

"'Don't know what you are talking about', right?" Aria sent several shivers down their spines with a dangerous smile. "I know that it was you four who sent them to the hospital room. Now tell me why you did it."

The guards remained quiet forcing Aria to give the order to a nearby soldier. "Send these four to the prison cells, and prepare them for execution."

"Wait!" one shouted jumping out from the line. He got back in once he noticed the deadly stare of Aria. She walked closer gripping her hands tighter behind her back. "Do you have something useful to contribute?"

"Um, we did it because we were told that you carry too much baggage."

"Told that I carry too much 'baggage'?"

The guard immediately cursed himself. _Shit, I slipped up_. The others gritted their teeth. The four went quiet prompting Aria to grip one of the guards by his neck. "What do you mean?!"

"That's what we were told by Adrian," the others answered trying to save their friend. _Adrian?_ Aria released the soldier as he fell back against the wall holding his neck. "Why would he give that order?"

"He was hoping that if we beat him enough, then he would beg for death on his own or perhaps take his own life."

 _That sadistic bastard_ , she clenched her fists by her sides. _You have a lot to answer for Adrian_. Aria looked around for him. _He must be somewhere else_. She looked back at the four guards and scoffed. "As a sign of my kindness, I will let you four live."

"Th-"

"But, this breach of my orders, and following Adrian's orders for something I explicitly warned against has cost you all your reputation here," Aria looked at the terrified faces. "Instead, you four will be sent out to fight on the front lines."

"What?" one nearly fell to the ground drowning with fear. The front lines effectively were an indirect execution. "But ma'am-"

"Would you rather I have you all executed?"

They all quietened. She huffed and walked away. "That's what I thought."

* * *

Adrian looked at the camera feed secretly hooked up to his computer for the entire base. He looked in the hospital room with contempt for Alex. _So he survived. I was hoping he would have begged for death while they were beating him. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself_. He heard the door slide open and turned to see who intruded him in his humble abode. Adrian stood up upon noticing Aria and offered her the seat. He quickly turned to turn off the computer monitor. Aria took quick notice of his action. "That is quite the snuff film setup you have there."

Adrian stood up with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Please Adrian," Aria walked closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. She tightened her grip eventually inflicting minor pain. "Did you think I would not find out about your political agenda? You are playing a very dangerous game here Adrian."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Quiet," she tossed him up against the wall and held him by his collar. "Your hired goons told me all about it. I don't know what your agenda is exactly, but know this that there are very few things I compromise on and family is not one of them."

He held up his hands trying to get a word in, but before he could speak, he was interrupted. "No one messes with my family Adrian, no one!"

"J- Just listen to me Aria," he took in a deep breath swallowing his own saliva and pride in the process. "Try to understand that I did it to help you."

"I never asked for this type of help."

"You didn't know you needed it," he felt his knees shake as she raised him into the air. She grinned noticing his old body tremble with the realization that there was no escaping this. "I didn't realize that you could start making decisions for me all of a sudden. Would you like to run the organization while you are at it, perhaps you would like a cup of tea to go along with the job?"

"Your brother is a liability!"

BAM!

Aria watched the old man squirm in pain as he held his injured, and red knee on the ground. He rolled from left to right squealing in pain. His knee bled heavily from the bullet wound. Aria bent down and rested the gun's barrel against his head. "No one talks about my family like that."

"Then die from your own emotional weaknesses you failure," said Adrian gasping for air. "This will be your downfall…how I wished for the world to change, and I hope that one day I may be able to see it perhaps, in the next life or the one after that."

She pulled the trigger, and planted three shots to his skull bursting it wide open. Aria stored the gun away and called for two guards. They nearly stumbled down to the floor at the gory sight. She motioned for them to approach the body. "Dump him outside in the garbage that is headed for the incinerator."

As the body is dragged away, she looked on with a satisfied smile. _Good riddance, now there will be no one to hold me back or question my leadership_. Aria left the room to take care of yet another task, one she was stopped from doing so before. _She must have had enough time to rest now_. Aria walked into the prison area and towards the cell that contained the orange haired beauty. Aria knocked on the bars and motioned for the guard to open the cell. "So, how have you been?"

* * *

Carolina remained quiet. Aria could already determine that this was going to be difficult. She looked back to the guard. "You, leave us."

Carolina's head was jerked up forcibly. Her blurry vision didn't help. It left her feeling completely defenceless against Aria's will. "If only you would have talked, then we would not have had to get so rough with that pretty face of yours. Then again, I suppose I can't speak for my generals."

Aria inched towards the table housing the tools of torture. She reached for a nail, and a hammer. "We are going to be starting our session again, and this time there will be no one to stop me. So I suggest you wise up hun."

She bent down by the right hand and aimed the sharp instrument in between the nail and the pinkie finger. With perfect precision, she pierced the area in between sending sharp pain like an electric shock throughout Carolina's body. Her whole body tensed, her back arched and her eyes jolted shut. She bit her lip to survive the pain, but the pain was winning. Aria was not blind to the suffering. In fact she took pleasure n it. _I suppose Adrian wasn't the only sadist around here_. She gently inserted the nail even further and heard the cracking of her nail. "Talk."

Aria stopped digging the nail in any further, and granted her victim the opportunity to catch their breath. But this kindness as it would seem to her fell on the wrong head. Carolina glared up towards Aria in a bout of anger. She reached out in an attempt to bite off Aria's ear. The torturer backed away with a playful laugh. "Oh hoh, still got some fight left in you. I like that. I really like that about my victims when they put up such a tough front."

Aria took out the nail prompting Carolina to squeal and bend far down as much as the chains would allow her. She inserted the nail in the right hand ring finger this time, but used the hammer this time to apply pressure, gently at first. Carolina shouted watching the blood splatter out. Aria increased the strength at which she hammered the nail at. Carolina's screams only increased until her nail came off. By then her mind had already gone numb, her heart raced on the verge of beating itself to death. Aria held up the bloody nail forcing Carolina's sight to it. "That probably didn't feel too good now did it? My offer still stands. Talk and make it easy on yourself. You will be treated for your wounds without delay and left comfortably, you would be getting more than most of our prisoners."

"Go…fuck yourself!"

Aria sat back and laughed at her idiocracy. But Carolina wasn't done speaking, she glared up at what seemed to her was a miserable and a mentally unstable woman. "I pity your brother for having such a deranged and psychotic older sister."

The smile that once radiated from Aria's face turned upside down into a frown. _Deranged and psychotic?_ She raised the nail and felt her breaths deepen. She moved instantly for Carolina's right hand, stabbed the nail through it and hammered it against the wall!

"So you pity him for having a sister like me huh?!" Aria took another nail and stabbed it into Carolina's left thigh. "Maybe I should make it so everyone else fucking pities you!"

She hammered the nail in deep until it broke through the orange haired woman's bone. "Now talk you fucking bitch!"

Aria hammered the nail even deeper, cracking through Carolina's bone and sending a painful sensation through her body. Her eyes became red upon stress. She bit her lips and felt some blood pour out. Aria slapped Carolina from one side to the other. Carolina felt her strength slowly leave her. Her eyes became dead, her head leaned downwards and she felt her body turn numb. Aria threw the hammer away and brushed her hair back. "Okay, you want to play it tough again."

She stood up walking over to the table and reached for a pair of silver pliers. "Then I can do tough as well."

Aria bent down by Carolina's right hand and slowly retrieved the nail. With every sticky, mucky sound, Carolina could feel the pain slowly spread from her hand to her arm, and then to her body. Aria looked at the blood on the nail with a sinister smile. Carolina's dead eyes awakened ever so slightly with worry. _What are you planning?_

The guard outside looked inside with worry. He himself knew that this may not end well. Out of concern for not only his leader's well being, but also the prisoner's he rushed out from the prison section towards those who he knew could rely on. Aria held Carolina's jaw and opened her mouth. She reached inside keeping her teeth from closing, and her struggle from increasing. She slithered her fingers inside upon one of the inhabitants that housed her sense of taste. She pulled out her tongue, and with great accuracy she placed the pliers firmly holding onto the tongue. Carolina's eyes widened. She understood what was to come, and Aria reveled in her victim's realization. "If you don't ever intend on talking about the important things, about the things I tell you to then what is the point in letting you keep your tongue? You may as well get rid of it."

"Mmmph!"

"I will make you a cripple, you hear me? It will be so that you can never again fight in your life time, and you will be left to live the rest of your life in a never ending pain cycle," she laughed just imagining the picture. "Imagine that, having someone else to wipe your shit off you because you will never be able to do it yourself again."

 _She is even more insane than before_. Carolina struggled against the grip of the pliers. But with every moment, she found her tongue squished even more. Aria shook her head and gently pulled on the ex-Freelancer's tongue. "You really are a stubborn little cat. I wonder if I can cook your tongue and feed it to the dogs later, they will probably like it."

Carolina began fighting back. She moved her head back and forth. Even the relentless pull from the pliers didn't stop her from putting up a battle. Aria felt the threshold of her patience soon run out. She retrieved the pliers and raised them air. "For crying out loud."

She swung it down hard against Carolina's skull. Her vision went dark for a moment. She felt her head become heavy with pain, blood dripped from the side and pain coursed through her whole body. Her mind became dizzy and a mess. Carolina tried to get a grip on her reality, but saw three Arias much to her shock. The hit made her mind go round and round like a child on a merry go round with their eyes wide open. "Just shut the fuck up and do as I say! If I tell you to talk then you should talk! I'm trying to help the world. You people are laughable at how hard you try to protect a decadent society. Humans, not only do they harm other planets for their own self gain in the name of survival, when it is really for capitalism, but they also hurt one another through wars, famine, corruption, greed and a broken fucking justice system! We are trying to change all that so that humans can finally mature a little. But you people continue to stand in our way. You label us terrorists when what we do will benefit the people in the long run. Society needs saving, it needs to be rebuilt from the very foundations!"

Carolina lowered her head tired of the words, the abuse and simply being awake. Aria leaned in closer with a louder voice. "Well, why don't you have any of your self-righteous bullshit to say now?!"

Carolina closed her eyes. Aria raised the pliers once again. "Fine, if you don't intend to talk and understand us, then the only solution for people like you is death, at least then you won't get in my way."

* * *

The generals rushed into the cell and just before Aria could deliver a killing blow to her skull, Dallas restrained her. Kabira bent down to check Carolina's condition. _She sure did a number on her, even worse than what Kai would have ever done_. She turned to Kai and said. "Go call for the paramedics. They will need to treat her wounds immediately, it's an emergency."

Dallas dragged Aria outside the cell and away from the others. "What do you think you were doing? This type of behavior is unbecoming of a leader. If anyone else saw this, no one would be willing to follow you into battle. No one would put their life into the hands of someone unstable and unhinged. To them you would seem like a psychotic woman, not the valiant, brave and intelligent leader they have all come to believe."

"Watch what you say Dallas," Aria warned holding up a finger to his chest. "I don't care about what others think of me as long as this wretched world changes. You can think I'm an idiot for all I care, but as long as the plan is executed successfully, I could care less if even you start calling me crazy."

"Is that really how you feel?" Dallas inquired shocked at the hollowness behind her voice. "We have known one another for a long time. We have relied on one another when we needed help as friends. So was all of that simply a waste for you?"

Aria looked away from the bearded general and turned around. He held her arm tightly. "Don't you run away from this Aria."

She flicked his hand off and rubbed her arm. "Continue the interrogation once she is in talking condition again. I want whatever knowledge she has about the ATSG. If we break her will, we can gain access to the very information that will help us destroy the ATSG. They are our biggest threat right now, at least for the United States."

Without another word spoken, she walked away leaving Dallas in the shadows to worry. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. _That ex-freelancer isn't the only one who needs to talk. Maybe you need to seek help Aria…_

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, that was a long chapter. It was much longer than any before, and filled to the brim with a whole lot of torture. Poor Ken, and poor Carolina. Just imagine what she would be feeling like during her time of captivity. Of course this will play an integral role into the development of Carolina leading to the ending of this trilogy, so this wasn't just for giggles. Let me know what you all thought about the chapter. Too much or was it bearable?**

 **I suppose my experience with writing torture scenes from working on the dark remake of Hansel and Gretel series came in handy (they can be found over on fiction press under the same pen name "Monty Mason").**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed!**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	10. Declaring her an Enemy

**Chapter 9: Declaring her an Enemy**

Aria closed her eyes, and gently rested the side of her head against the soft, comfy and warm bed her little brother lied on. She slowly moved for his hand underneath the sheets and gripped whatever outline she could make of it. _Just how deeply involved am I in my growing guilt?_ She gently opened her eyes and looked up to his face. _What I did to Carolina is unforgivable, but necessary. Still, I feel like my heart and mind would give away under the weight of this guilt at any moment now._ Aria again closed her eyes and leaned forward with a deep breath in. _That was a necessary evil…it was necessary_. She looked up to Alex and gently ran her finger through his hair. "Sometimes we must do things we don't want to in life, don't we? I'm sure you understand that better than anyone else in our lives."

Alex suddenly awoke a few moments later to the dozing sounds of his sister by his bedside. He looked down to her face. _It still is the same face, but the person behind the face is different. Or perhaps the person has always been the same as well, and that I was just too ignorant to see it before_. He reached out with his hand to brush her cheek. _I curse that fate that has put us on opposing sides of the fence, with both of us so determined in our cause_. He retrieved his hand as she shook her head and stirred awake. Their eyes met in a deadlock each trying to gaze deep within one another. Both of them were on a similar wavelength of thought. _Why did you choose to be my enemy?_

For a moment Aria gave him a concerned look, but then that concern quickly turned to relief seeing him fully awake. She stood up and reached in for a hug. "I'm so sorry for my disobedient soldiers. I never meant for any harm to come to you Alex."

He tried to push her away, but her strength overwhelmed his body. He took note of the armor she wore and wondered if it provided any special properties to her abilities. She retreated back into the chair and sat with her hands on her thighs. She sat simply smiling at her brother in silence. Alex looked away mentioning. "Maybe you don't have as much control over your organization as you thought you did."

"Yes, you are right."

Alex turned in curiosity never expecting for her to agree with him. Aria however further went on to say. "I have personally taken care of the issue. So now, no more political conflicts shall arise and I will have gained their utmost absolute loyalty."

He became extremely aware of her suddenly. Something about the way she said that didn't sit well with him. Her dark tone, calm eyes and an emotionless expression put him on the edge. "What did you do with Carolina?"

"I gave your 'friend' an equal chance," Aria explained shaking her head. "But it seems she had the idea to keep her mouth sowed shut. I was forced to take extreme measures to get the information I need."

"Hmph, good luck with that."

"Yes well, perhaps cutting off a limb or two may change her mind."

Alex stared at her horrified by the suggestion. Aria stood up holding up his chin, and with a sly grin she reminded him. "I'm willing to go to any depths necessary to realize the long time vision. You too should consider my offer again."

"You and I are different," Alex scoffed back flicking her hand away. "The things I went through when you left me changed me for the better. I know where I stand."

Aria now agitated at his persistence stood up and forcibly held his hand. He struggled against the grip but found that the more he struggled, the more she crushed it. She lowered her head onto his hand and with desperation strong in her voice she begged. "Please, come to our side! I don't want to have to make you my enemy."

After a bit of struggle, he finally managed to jerk her away and glared towards her. He breathed heavily upon exerting more effort than he anticipated. He gritted his teeth and sat up straight. "If you didn't want to fight me, then you should not have made an enemy out of the world, the society and especially my friends!"

Aria stood frozen in silence, riddled with shock. She looked away from her brother slowly backing away. She shook her head still unable to accept this brother of hers and quickly exited the hospital area.

* * *

Washington looked at the single strand of hair in his hand. _Grey hair?_ He looked at his own reflection. His hair seemed healthy, but upon closer inspection he could see few strands of grey hair mixed in with the rest. He threw the hair in the bin with an aloof sigh. "That's just great. I'm not even that old and I'm already getting grey hair, thank you stress."

He took his helmet, tightened it on his head and exited the washroom. _I'm getting too old for this shit. I need a nice long vacation_. He walked around the ship to the training facilities and noticed all the trainees already present. _Good_ , he clapped his hands. "Fall in line everyone!"

Wash looked at the soldiers who awaited their next order. "I want all of you to give me ten laps around the area for a warm-up."

After hearing their complaints, he started jogging in one spot and spread his arms. "Well, you slow pokes going to let me show you up so easily?"

As if a switch had been flipped, their competitive spirit had begun overflowing. They all rushed towards Washington, but none managed to pass him. He looked back after completing his eighth lap, while the others were still on their sixth. _It looks like they still have quite a ways to go_.

* * *

Two red soldiers of the BGC stood around observing the outer space with Bitters and Matthews. Grif looked to the others and their entranced stares towards the cosmos. Simmons was taken aback by the beauty. "Isn't it amazing?"

"Yeah…," Matthews felt his mind at ease, and his energy refilling. Bitters noticed one gas cloud in the distance and said. "Doesn't that kind of look like a muffin? Man I'm hungry."

 _Wow, how interesting_ , Grif sarcastically pondered as he sighed in his helmet. "What are we even doing here guys?"

"Well you said you wanted to come up here," replied Simmons. "So don't start complaining now."

"Yeah, you are right."

"How about we try talking about something else then?" Matthews suggested. Bitters jumped on the idea, but before he could get a word in, Matthews turned to the fellow Chorus soldier. "And no more talking about food for now."

"Aw man…"

"Well then, what do you guys think about the ATSG and Siris?" inquired Simmons. The others looked at one another in deep thought. Grif waited for others, but no one spoke up, so he took the first go. "I don't know, I don't exactly trust them to get the job done of rescuing Carolina, at least not without some casualties."

"What makes you say that? You hardly know them," noted Simmons. Grif walked around the room at a reasonable pace. "I don't know, it's just an instinctive feeling I'm having."

"You shouldn't make such judgements so brashly," Matthews explained. "It can come back to bite you sometimes."

"Yeah, you are right," Grif conceded nearly throwing Simmons off balance. _There he did it again! I think Grif is really turning over a new leaf here_. Grif crossed his arms looking at his own history. "I have had issues with this, and honestly I have been trying to fix it for a long time now."

"You can do it," Bitters encouraged taking out a bag of chips. "If you do so little by little daily, you can fix it. Look at me. I slimmed down after doing the training with Washington little by little daily."

"That coming from the guy eating fatty food in front of us," Matthews said snatching the bag. Bitters jumped like a desperate puppy looking for its snack. "But what Bitters said is right Grif. Just trying can make a huge difference."

Simmons agreed as well, but quickly switched the gears of their conversation to something that has been on his mind a lot. "So anyone know what is up with Caboose? Usually he would be sticking pretty close to Tucker, or one of us, but now days I hardly see him. He seems to be spending a lot more time with the freelancers we rescued from the ice planet."

"He has gotten pretty close to Iowa," Matthews chimed in with a happy voice for the blue soldier. Grif laughed to himself noting. "Well, people of equal 'intellect' do seem to attract one another."

"And yet, we are still here talking to you," Simmons added in a disappointed voice jokingly. Grif held up a playful middle finger. "Up yours to buddy."

* * *

Tucker looked down the sights of his assault rifle, aimed at the target and nailed it. Everyone around him was both surprised and impressed. It seemed that the time he spent in training with Washington and the other reds and blues was paying off. Now, he could hold his own without Sigma's help all the time in combat when it came to firefights. Tucker reloaded the weapon, grumbled to himself in frustration and continued firing the gun. Palomo was quick to notice this behavior. "Hey, is everything alright Tucker?"

Unsurprisingly, the more Tucker's frustration grew, the more he began to miss his shots. Palomo observed Tucker nearly throwing a temper tantrum as he stomped his foot on the ground. "Um, Tucker? What's wrong, do you want to talk about it?"

Tucker threw away the rifle and caused Palomo to jump back as the aqua soldier ran into the shooting range, drew his sword and chopped the target up into little pieces. "That's what you get for mocking me with your lifeless stare you stupid dummy."

Lopez looked at the mess, then back to Tucker, back to the mess and then back to Tucker again. "[I'm not cleaning that up.]"

"That's a good suggestion Lopez," Donut opted to translate for the Spanish robot against his will. "Lopez says, 'Mister' you need to go look into anger management. I'm sure Doc can help."

"Man, this is such bullshit!" Tucker stomped his way back to the others. He punched the counter containing their ammo clips. "I hate that we can't help save Carolina."

"It is what it is," Palomo replied in an attempt to help soothe the anger. Unfortunately for Palomo, it did not. Tucker raised a finger and a fist slowly inching towards him. "What would you know about Carolina and us huh?!"

Washington restrained Tucker from the behind. "Simmer down there Tucker."

Tucker eyed Washington with much annoyance. He struggled against the grip unable to successfully free himself. "Okay, let me go."

Tucker struggled some more. "Seriously dude, let me go! This is the last time I will ask."

After some more struggle, Tucker head butted Wash's helmet and broke free of the grip. "I warned you."

"You warned me that you were going to be a complete asshole to me?" Wash slurred trying to stabilize his vision. He shook his head clearing it of the dizziness and crossed his arms. "You are lucky that all this is because of a hissy fit and not something more serious, otherwise you would be on the ground by now."

"Predictably so," Tucker agreed taking a few steps back. Washington unfolded his arms and looked to those around him. "What was it you guys were talking about? Why did Tucker get so worked up?"

The others shook their shoulders in cluelessness. Tucker pointed a finger at Wash. "I will tell you why I was so worked up. I don't trust the ATSG to do the job right, or if they can even do it at all that is! I would much rather we do this. Carolina is a friend, and I don't want to leave her rescue in the hands of strangers."

"Calm down Tucker," Wash argued. "To us they are strangers, but to Carolina who has spent months with them will know better."

"So what, we just roll over and trust them implicitly?" Tucker shook his head in disapproval. "If Junior was in danger, I would drop everything to rush to his aid. I would do it even if it meant going through hell for him."

"Look Tucker," Wash held Tucker by his chest armor to keep him at bay. "I want to go as well, but one rash decision can screw everything up for us!"

"This still doesn't feel right!"

"Sometimes," everyone looked to Palomo who spoke up nervously. "Sometimes what we feel isn't right may end up being the best thing to do. It may seem like the wrong thing right now, but because of how much our perception of reality affects and shapes us as well as our choices, we risk a lot by acting on feelings."

Washington agreed giving Palomo more speaking time. "Going in guns blazing to rescue Carolina may sound like a great idea, and maybe fun, but the correct decision for us is to focus on our mission. There is no need to be a hero today and go in guns blazing, that time will come someday Tucker."

 _Wait a minute_ , Tucker stopped for a moment to stare dumb founded towards Palomo. _He is saying deep and profound things. Is this the same guy I know?_ Tucker studied him from all sides creeping both him and the others out. "What are you doing Tucker?"

"Oh nothing," Tucker looked away. Washington agreed with the words spoken by the Chorus soldier. "Listen to your friends Tucker, and let others handle Carolina. I'm equally if not more so worried about her. After all, I have known her longer than any of you."

The ex-Freelancer rubbed the back of his helmet nervously. "But I also know just how badly she will kick our asses if she finds out that we dropped the mission to go rescue her."

"Oh, I would not like to be the guy standing next to her on that day," Donut mused. Tucker recalled all of his experiences with her when she nearly took his head off, kicked him so hard in the crotch that he would feel like he was a woman for a moment or worst of them all, when he felt violated by Carolina's butchered usage of his unique catchphrase. "Okay…you all make fair points."

* * *

Doc stopped by the door frame to one of the many lounges on the ship. There he saw Caboose with Ohio's and Sherry's group. The blue soldier seemed very engrossed in the group's discussions. Caboose raised a hand bringing up a question for others to find rather strange for him to ask. "So do you guys ever wonder about why we are here?"

"Like, all the time man," said Darryl recalling all the moments he asked Terrill the exact same thing. Idaho slapped his knee in hilarity. "I do that to with Iowa."

"Oh yea, how does it end for you guys?" asked Terrill. Idaho looked down at his right foot. "Sadly, it always ends with me getting shot in my foot."

"Wait, what, how?" Sherry inquired.

"Well let's just say that everytime I brought this question up to him, an ice spider always thought it would be funny to come and make itself at home on my foot."

"Yeah, and I tried to get it off of him, I was helping!" Iowa did his best to defend himself against the jury that are his friends. Idaho shook his head and screamed. "But you hit everything else, including my foot every freaking time. But in all of that you always missed the spider."

"I'm very scared of ice spiders."

"We have noticed on numerous occasions," Darryl added. "Like that one time you blew up our communications satellite dish because you thought there that critter up there."

"How did he blow that up?" asked Doc giving away his presence. They gladly welcomed him with open arms and created a spot for him to take as his own. Idaho recalled the juicy details with a huge smirk on his face. Iowa on the other hand lowered his head in embarrassment. Idaho rubbed his hands together taking enjoyment in Iowa's silent and friendly suffering. "Well he took the microwave from Darryl's side of the base, pressed random buttons in panic and threw it up at the satellite with some crazy hidden strength."

"That microwave didn't even have a destruct button or a sequence on it," Terrill added as a side note. "I don't even know how everytime he touches a microwave, or sometimes even passes by them they explode. It's like they have a thing against Iowa."

"You must be popular!" Caboose theorized. "I'm super popular with robots to. In fact they like me so much, I have Freckles installed in my gun here! Say hello Freckles."

"Hello everyone," Freckles' light blinked in the side of the rifle as he spoke. "It is nice to meet you all."

"That's neat," Ohio studied the rifle closely. She could hardly tell that there was the A.I. of a robot in here. In fact she wouldn't have known had she been never told about it. _That's some fine craftsmanship right there_. Sherry lowered her head in thought and said. "So Caboose, why don't you tell us, why are we here?"

"Well I don't really know," the blue soldier admitted. "Sometimes I just think about how we are all just a makeup of shared particles thrust into some big event out of our control. It really keeps me up at night."

"All of us made up of shared particles eh?" Idaho eyed Ohio. "I like the sound of that."

"You are thinking something perverted, aren't you?" asked the triplet's leader. Idaho sat back shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "Um…no, I don't know what it is you are talking about."

"I'm going to break you now, and I'm going to enjoy it."

Idaho hid behind Darryl. "Be my meat shield!"

Darryl slid to the side accommodating Ohio. She thanked him for his understanding and took Idaho's hand. Initially Idaho felt all gushy inside like a young boy getting to hold the hands of a girl he really likes. But then he felt it to be a grave mistake to feel as such. She took his finger and started bending it backwards. "Ow! Ow! I give in!"

"Pussy," Ohio stated moving back to her spot beside Sherry. The two women giggled amongst themselves at Idaho's suffering. He rubbed his hand looking at Darryl with a sour look. "That was a dick move man, dick move."

"So, how about a card game?" suggested Terrill hoping to defuse the tensions between Ohio, Idaho and Darryl. The others all were up for it. However Darryl had a special request to make this time. "If we are going to do this, then no getting help from Delta this time, got that Caboose?"

Delta appeared beside his host. "That is rather rude to rule me out from the game right away. I very much enjoyed our last game session together."

"Can you even have a hobby, or enjoy things in the way we do?" Sherry asked raising an eyebrow. The green logical core confirmed that they could. "As we learn more, evolve throughout our existence and operation, we learn to take on more human like qualities."

"Oh man, it is so great to have you guys on board," Doc stated, and suddenly O'Malley switched out with the medic. "Yes, so that I may have more fools for my live target practice, mwhahahaa!"

"Omega, please stop that," requested Delta upon noticing the slight unnerved heart beats around the room. "We don't want to make them uncomfortable."

"I will do what I want!" O'Malley was suddenly suppressed by Doc. "Sorry about what just happened, just ignored him. It tends to happen from time to time."

Everyone looked at Doc in silence as if they had seen something very strange and shocking. Doc stared at the others uncomfortably. "Stop staring at me like that."

Doc shook his head and slapped the sides of his helmet. "As I was saying, it's great having you guys on board. It helps to quench Caboose's need for more friendships as well. You guys have made a huge impact on him."

"It's all good," Sherry prompted to speak up when the others stared at Doc feeling touched by his gratitude. Ohio agreed. "Yeah, plus we like him."

Idaho looked at Ohio but quickly felt a sharp needle pierce his heart upon her quick correction. "Like him as a friend. Seriously Idaho, what is up with you going at it really hard with that gutter mind of yours lately?"

"Hey, a guy can hope," Idaho said in a barely audible tone. "I know, how about if I behave like Caboose, will you start liking me more?"

"Not a chance Idaho, not even if hell froze over."

Idaho held his chest grunting in the pain of rejection. "This is like the twentieth time, and I should be used to it. But the pain is so fresh as if it was my first time. Why must you do this to me Ohio, why?!..."

* * *

Outside of the borders surrounding the Cradle of Hope headquarters stood a small group of ATSG soldiers. Each of them was eager to start the mission. Siris looked at everyone, _looks like they are all adequately prepared_. He signalled with a few hand signs getting several thumbs up. "Good. Be careful, all of you. Remember, if you notice anything out of the ordinary, report it immediately when it's safe to do so. Don't rely on your weapons here, only use knives and your fists."

They all confirmed spreading out through the land. Siris called the headquarters on his holographic display and saw the assigned soldier at his post. "Remember to report in right away if something happens there. Remember to send both a call and a text message in case I can't pick up."

"Yes sir."

The ATSG soldiers moved through the enemy base, having somewhat easily infiltrated it with some minor issues. Many almost came close to enemy contact and nearly risked the mission. To everyone it was clear that they would have no doubt increased the security guards after Ken's break-in. The soldiers all map out the various patrol routes, shift changes and any other normal occurrences. Siris back by their van studied the real time feedback. _The routes seem to be very scripted, if this keeps up then it will make it easier for us to infiltrate the base_.

After a good three hours, he called his soldiers back praising their work. "Excellent work people, with this we have what we need to start preparing."

"When do we commence the mission?" asked Chloe feeling her heart beat faster, the time was coming where she could once again face Ken and give him a piece of her mind. Siris looked down towards the enemy base and said. "We will commence the mission tonight."

"Isn't that a little bit too soon?" asked one soldier. "I mean, shouldn't we map out at least a full day's and night's worth of patrol data and do this tomorrow?"

"We have no choice," Siris promptly replied. "The longer we leave those two in enemy hands, the longer we expose them to danger."

"That is true," several of the soldiers agreed. One by one upon Siris' notice, they boarded the van and drove away back to the base. As Siris turned a corner, he looked at the crew in the rear view mirror and said. "Gear up gang, tonight we go hunting."

* * *

Aria stalked the prison hallways. She slowly treaded towards Carolina's cell and gained entry. Inside, the generals were observing her condition after another session of interrogation. The ex-Freelancer's body looked completely lifeless, her eyes closed and her body limp. Aria bent down in front of the orange haired woman and lifted her head. She turned Carolina's head from one side to the other. "Is she…dead?"

"Just passed out," Kai crossed his arms scoffing. "The bitch couldn't even take a small punch. One touch and she passed out."

"And so the interrogation was a waste today as well," admitted Kabira. Dallas diffused the frustration. "At least she is beginning to show cracks in that determination of hers."

Irene on the other hand lied on the bed taking a nice nap. Aria looked at the lazy general with a curious stare. _No matter where she goes, she can just fall asleep so easily. I guess when life gives you lemons, lie back and sleep it off_. She stood up gently releasing Carolina's head. "What about her body's condition?"

"These two days have been hard on her," Dallas answered. "And that's not just my opinion, but the doctor's opinion as well. They recommended not doing anything too extreme to her body. It is already at a very fragile state. I would be inclined to agree."

"You are not sympathizing for her are you Dallas?" Kabira asked in a sharp voice. Dallas' face turned stern as he glared at her. "Of course not, but we should know when to stop. Otherwise if we can't even make the distinction between when we are close to crossing the line, and when we have crossed it committing unnecessary violence, then we are no better than the brutal terrorist the media loves to paint us as."

Kabira looked towards Irene for support and a comeback, but her friend was busy snoring loudly. "I swear to god that someday I'm going to make you start going on early morning jogs with me and fix that laziness of yours."

"Enough!" Aria stomped her foot loud enough to gather everyone's attention. "There is no need to argue over this. Her body could no longer take our methods and so she passed out, plain and simple."

Aria bent down and checked Carolina's heart rate. _It's stable, good_. She eyed the bandages all over Carolina's body with a sense of guilt. She closed shut her eyes and lowered her head in a silent apology, but one to be so easily missed. _Why?_ Aria looked up and punched the wall beside Carolina's head. _Why the hell did you have to be so fucking stubborn?! I was hoping that this type of torture wasn't necessary_. Kabira felt the disturbance from the hesitant look on Aria's face. "Hey now, you aren't regretting this are you?"

Aria lowered her head upon standing up. "I have always felt regret when we have had to hurt others."

"That's not what it looked like when we had to stop you the last time around," Dallas interjected pinning her up against a corner. The others looked at her for a response. Aria admitted to her fault. "I did enjoy it. I in fact lost myself to the monster that lives within me, within us all always looking to thrive in the violence."

Aria pointed to the shackles and looked at the guard outside. "Undo the chains, and let her rest on the bed."

"Is that wise?" Dallas questioned her judgement fearing that this decision was the result of her feelings and not hardened rational thought. Aria nodded her head. "She has endured enough pain for now. When the time comes, make no mistake, the sessions will resume again. But for now, we can at least grant her a peaceful rest. We are branded terrorists by the rest of the world, but we are just as human as any average Joe on the streets."

"Average Joes who dish out torture as part of an interrogation?" Kai laughed finding amusement in the contorted logic. Aria was quick to silence his aloof attitude. "We are normal people, but individuals who are put into the unfortunate circumstances of being forced to do horrible things to realize our vision. We tried the diplomacy approach in the past with every little thing. I'm sure you remember how that worked out for us, causing us all to go into hiding while we rebuilt our organization."

"Yeah," Kai replied silencing himself. The others waited for the guard to undo her shackles. Kabira shoved Irene off the bed against her childish, yet cute whining and gently placed Carolina under the blankets. The generals left first, Aria looked back one last time and spoke to the guard. "Let us know when she wakes up."

* * *

Alex slowly opened his eyes, awakening to the noises of shuffling feet near his bed. He squinted his eyes at the sudden blindness of the white ceiling lights. _That gets me every damn time_. He looked to his left to see the doctor walking towards the hospital area exit. The doctor looked to the guard who was once the patient beside Alex, and his cell guard. "I'm heading out for my dinner break, so call me if there is an emergency."

"Got it doc, I will look after the facility while you are gone."

The doc thanked the young guard for his aptitude and left towards the cafeteria looking forward to tonight's special. _You don't seem like such a bad guy_ , pondered Alex slowly looking towards the guard. _I hate to do this to you, but I need to do what is necessary just like you guys_. Alex raised his hand moaning in pain. "Help…Help!..."

The guard looked back with worry, and suddenly rushed to Alex's side. "What's wrong, are you in pain?!"

"I have to go to the washroom, very badly," Alex stated pointing to the nearby facility. "I need someone to act as my support."

"Right," the guard helped lift Alex out of the bed and swung his arm over his shoulder. He slowed down to match Alex's pace. The two after a good five minutes managed to reach the washroom. Alex stared from the side of his eye and looked apologetically at him. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, for wh-"

Before the guard could finish, he fell to the floor from the precise yet gentle blow to the guard's weak spot by the neck. He rubbed his hand groaning. _My body still aches from that beating before. I suppose that should be expected, it has only been two days after all_. He bent down reaching for the guard's cap. "I really am sorry about this bud. You don't seem like such a bad guy. But you are standing on the opposite side of the fence from me ready to bare your fangs upon her command. I hope somehow you manage to open your eyes to see things with reason."

Alex worked fast to strip the guard of his uniform and base keys. He switched his dress for the guard uniform, dressed the guard in the patient uniform and dragged him back to the bed. Alex looked around for anyone else present in their company, things were going smoothly. He gently rested the guard down onto the bed and dragged the bed sheets over the unconscious body. Alex left the facility avoiding the cameras he noticed, he made good use of their blind spots and followed the various directional arrows to the prison section.

The guard watching over Carolina's cell noticed Alex's approach. He held up a hand prompting for the young assassin to stop. "What are you doing here?"

"Easy tiger, I'm just here to check up on the prisoner's condition as per our leader's orders."

Alex looked inside and nearly gasped at her current status. He almost backed away towards the wall in shock. The guard looked intensely at Alex and raised an eyebrow while motioning towards his own face. "What happened to your face?"

Alex smirked as he explained. "I got into a little scuffle. It ended badly for me as you can see."

The guard burst out into a laughter slapping his legs. "I bet it was in a bar fight."

"Good guess," Alex joked and turned to leave. As he walked away he held the sensation to throw up locked away. _Jesus, how could she do such horrible things to Carolina?_ He stopped by the exit to the prison cell and gritted his teeth. _You really have fallen so low sis_. He swallowed a bit of his saliva holding the bile at bay, clenched his hands into fists and exited the facility. _I hope Church is unharmed_. Alex followed the various signs all the way to the weapons facility. _My weapons should be kept there_. He turned the corner nearly caught by the cameras, but was quick to hide in the crowd and made great use of his surroundings. Moving when the cameras weren't looking, he worked his way into their blind spot and progressed with ease.

* * *

Alex entered the room devoid of any presence, only filled to the brim with weapons for a small army. He scavenged the area for anything useful. In his search moving from one section to the next, he finally came across a set of remotely detonating explosives. He looked around for any cameras and any individual, there was no one. He took a handful and stuffed them underneath his uniform non-conspicuously. Alex moved to the next section where he found his armor. With a wide grin he knew that his gauntlets had to be here as well then. He removed his clothes, wore the armor underneath and put them back on. Thanks to the nature of the explosives containing a hook in their design, he was able to hang them off of his armor. Alex moved with speed and found his gauntlets as well stored away behind many other weapons. _They must not have wanted it to be found so easily by anyone else_. He attached the gauntlets, activated the computer and tested out the blades. _They still work, good_. Alex left the room now moving on to the next item on his list of things to be done.

Alex moved throughout the base's floor with a low profile, and he set the charges on any locations that seemed to be already weak. He was left with two charges. He set one up near the weapons storage, and the other was set up by the security office. _Now onto the next item on the bucket list_. Alex approached a group of soldiers talking and laughing amongst themselves. "Excuse me! I was wondering where they kept the armor of that freelancer they brought in?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I am just super curious to see it," Alex reasoned. "I mean imagine it, the technology that armor must run on."

The guard quickly raised his hand for Alex to stop. He didn't care much for the technical details. He pointed Alex in the direction of the tech labs. The young assassin thanked the solder as he followed the directions to yet another long outstretched hallway. This location was cooler than the others and lit up in a blue hue. _I wonder what big bad experiments they get up to here_. Alex looked through the lightly tinted windows into each lab until he finally found the familiar pieces of her armor. Alex used the stolen key pass on the lab's card reader and entered. The other scientists looked all in surprise. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh no," Alex responded taking out a clothed bag. "I'm just here to take out the trash."

"Trash?"

Alex pointed towards the armor. The scientists immediately felt something amiss. They all stood in the way of the armor. "We still need it for study."

"Well you don't exactly have a choice in the matter. These are the leader's orders after all."

"I will need to check that with her," said one reaching for a panel. The others agreed, and Alex felt the pressing need to hurry the process up.

"Oh sure, go right on ahead," said the young assassin just as he quickly moved for the one scientist reaching out towards the communication panel. He pointed his wrist blade at the scientists' neck and whispered. "Come on big boy, go ahead and call her while I slice your throat open."

The scientist backed away lifting his hands in the air. Alex smiled appreciative of the understanding. "Good man."

But suddenly another scientist ran towards the communication panel, intending to hit the emergency button. Alex shook his head, he sliced open the throat of the one held at knife point and tripped the one running for the button. He stabbed the blade through the back of the neck and watched the man slowly fade into the unknown void that is death. The last scientist stared in horror. He looked up from the bodies in a pool of blood to the young assassin. He raised his hands in terror and defense. Alex walked closer pointing a finger at his friends. "Sorry bro, but I can't exactly leave you alive, not after what your friends tried to pull. Plus, you would just be a witness to the crime."

He took the armor and dragged it all the way back to the prison section. Upon entering, Alex dragged it down the hall with noises echoing behind him. He walked towards Carolina's cell and the guard instantly recognized him. "Hey, what are you doing back h-"

The guard fell to the ground from a swift punch to the face. He took the guard's keys and opened the cell. He rushed to Carolina's side and tried to shake her awake. It was of no use, she would not wake up. He took out her helmet and put it on. _I hope you are awake in there Church_. He took the forearm armor and activated the suit. "Talk to me Church."

"Oh look who decided to show up, it's McAssy-douche-asshole," Church spoke in a bitter voice. Alex understood that he had every reason to be frustrated and angry with him. "You can take your anger out on me later. Right now I need you to work with me. I can't get out all on my own, I need intel."

"Fine," Church looked towards Carolina. _Hang on sis. We will get you out of here no matter what_. He looked back to the young assassin and scoffed. "At least you made it out safely. Please tell me that you have a plan."

"I was kind of hoping to work that out with you right now."

"Oh you did not just pull that card on me," Church threw up his arms in more frustration. "You seriously didn't think of a plan while you were in your cell? You do know that someone could come strolling by any minute now and find us in here right?"

"That's why we need to start discussing solutions rather than voicing our frustrations."

"Che, fine," Church pointed to the helmet and said. "Keep that on your head. I need to run a response test on you."

"Response test?"

"Just do as I say. When I say 'sync', you respond with saying 'fire', got it?"

Alex nodded his head. Church nodded his head and relaxed his form. "Let's begin. Sync!"

"…Fire."

"Sync!"

"Fire."

"Sync!"

"Fire!"

"Okay, that's enough," Church raised a hand calibrating for the response time. "Take the pistol from that guard. Tie that bag of armor around your one shoulder and lug Carolina over the other. I will work on getting real-time data through the cameras and create a layout of the facility. You just do as I say, whenever I tell you to do something specifically, you do it. I will say those things with reason, so don't go around questioning them, after all we don't have a whole lot of luxury to chat here."

"Understood."

"Good," Church motioned towards the bag and Carolina. "Take care of her. I will be back in a couple of minutes with the data."

Church disappeared hacking into the base's systems. He moved from camera to camera quickly imaging the data into a three dimensional map. Alex tied the bag securely on one side, and lifted Carolina ever so slowly. He could hear her moans of discomfort. "I'm really sorry about this, but you are going to have to bear with it Carolina."

Church appeared displaying the map. "I have highlighted the route you need to take. Remember to be fast and accurate with that pistol whenever I tell you to."

Alex looked at one shoulder, and then the other and took a deep breath in. "This isn't the most magnificent of escapes I had in mind."

"Tough luck, suck it up," Church said annoyed by Alex's complaint. "Now, get a move on."

* * *

Alex took out the detonator to all the explosives around the base and strapped it by his belt. He moved outside of the cell studying the pistol. He raised it at head height and opened the door. Slowly he moved doing his best to avoid the enemy's line of sight for as long as possible. But this could continue only for so long. A guard noticed Alex and the items he carried with great suspicion. He alerted his friends and they alerted their supervisors. Something was amiss, and the guard opted to investigate. "Hey you, stop!"

Alex stopped in his tracks and eyed the guard from the side of his right eye. In a soft whisper he spoke. "Church, what's your call?"

"You know we don't have time to waste right?"

"Yeah," Alex said in a low voice. _Sorry pal, but I'm going to need to make this quick_. Alex turned around and opened fire gunning down the guard. The base went on full alert. Following Church's directions, Alex managed to make it to one of the exits, but he found the resistance too heavy for his liking. He placed Carolina behind some cover and opened fire accurately placing several shots lodged into the enemy skulls. The more people he put down, an equal number if not more so took their place. He gritted his teeth groaning in frustration as it was overwhelming. _We need a distraction_. He eyed the nearby fire alarm with a smile. _It looks like even fate wants me to escape as well_. He rushed towards the device, dodge rolling out of the way from the stream of bullets. Alex stood up, and pushed down the alarm.

The loud ringing alerted the whole base. The Generals stood up from their respective tables in the cafeteria and walked out to a panicked populace. Everyone pushed past one another to escape the building, chaos built up and Alex saw the perfect opportunity in this. He blended in within the crowd and escaped the line of sight of his enemies. He exited the building out into the cold and starry night. His getaway was successful thus far.

ATSG soldiers armed to the teeth departed their van and looked at the growing numbers on the outdoors of the base property. Many wondered the cause of why this was happening. Church reactivated Ken's signal, as well as Carolina's when finding adequate distance. Chloe heard her communication device beep. She unlocked it and checked for the notification. It was picking up Ken's signal again just as she had configured it to. "Look, Ken's signal is back online. He is moving out of the base now."

Siris looked at the data with confidence and motioned for the soldiers to spread out. "Search every nook and cranny for him."

Alex fought his way through any rare resistance he encountered now. The generals exited the headquarters as per the fire safety procedure, but they did so with several squads formed for the sole purpose of finding their escaped prisoners through a grid by grid search of the perimeter. Aria was the last one out, making sure all the rest were out. "Search for them. Search all night long if you have to! No rest until they are found!"

"This should be good enough," suggested Church. Alex stopped and slowly turned around. He took out the detonator and looked at the base. _I wish we could have understood one another somehow sis_. He clicked the button halfway activating the detonator, and finally pressed it down all the way. The blinking green light turned red. The bomb signal blinking red on the charges became a solid red. The electrical signals sparked the fuse and the charges exploded, causing the structure to shake and crack until it could no longer support the ceiling. Aria looked back with her generals wide eyed as they saw the ceiling collapse and dust rise in the air. Aria rushed down towards the ruble, but is stopped by a forceful Dallas. "Don't, it's too dangerous!"

"There were soldiers near the building, I can't leave them be!"

"If someone was there, then they are already dead," Kabira argued holding Aria back with a gentle grip on her shoulder. "And if they aren't, then they will be in couple of seconds. There is nothing we can do but endure the casualties now."

* * *

Alex turned around, and dragged Carolina away from the facility until he found the sounds shuffling feet through the grass. He was stopped at gun point by surrounding soldiers. He dropped the pistol and raised the free hand. The soldiers quickly lowered their weapon. "It's alright guys, he has the gauntlets and he is carrying Carolina. It's Ken!"

"Am I glad to see you guys," Alex sighed with relief. That was until one of the soldiers mentioned. "Yeah well don't relax just yet. I hear that Chloe really wants to give you a stern talking to for that stupid stunt you pulled off man. I never figured you to be so impatient and dumb."

"I guess I just needed to do something dumb. It did help clear some things up though."

"That's good," the soldier motioned for Alex to follow and he walked behind them, treading up the hill with Carolina in one arm, and the other being used to balance himself with. They return to the van where Siris stood with crossed arms, and a furious expression on his face. Alex handed Carolina to others, same for her armor and helmet. "That's for the help Church."

"Whatever, don't think that this still fixes what you did."

 _He is never going to let me live this one down. But then again I doubt very many people would_. He turned around upon hearing his name and feet rushing towards him. His face jolted to his left from a hard slap. Alex rubbed the side of his face with a grunt. "It's nice to see you to Chloe."

"You god damn idiot, do you even realize just how worried I was? I trusted you to not do anything reckless and you broke that trust!"

"Ken," Siris called out from behind the young man. He turned to face his mentor ready to face up to whatever punishment he had in mind. To both Alex's and Chloe's surprise, he went down to the ground holding the side of his jaw. Siris loosened his fist and stretched his hand. "We will talk about this back at base. For now all I will say is that I don't remember ever raising a dumb student. I'm disappointed in you Alex."

"Sir," one of the ATSG soldiers busy checking Carolina's condition called out. "We need to get her back to base and in our emergency medical beds right away!"

Siris told everyone to load up, there was not a moment to waste. They quickly rushed farther away from the terrorist base and towards the emergency admittance.

* * *

When the dust had cleared off, the Cradle of Hope soldiers approached to study the damage. Aria walked atop the rubble with worry of the setback this could cause them. But thankfully, the fact that they were still standing here meant the nuclear materials they had worked to obtain were still safe. Dallas walked to one of the hidden doors and opened it. He called up the crew from down below guarding the entrance for a status report. Kai approached Aria from behind and asked. "What will we do now?"

As Dallas finished getting the update, he turned to his fellow general. "We will continue onwards, what else can we do?"

"That's right," Kabira agreed raising a fist. "They may have destroyed a part of our base, but that doesn't mean that we are helpless. The lower levels of the base are still safe."

"Hmm," Irene looked around with a yawn and nodded her head. "Our plan is still achievable, but the ATSG worries me. Destroying them will be more difficult than we initially thought."

Kabira tapped Irene on the forehead. "Wait a go bring down the enthusiasm. All of us will fight together. We will bring the ATSG down together. Remember that there will always be difficulties. That is a fact of life."

Aria walked past the guards down into the lower levels with the generals following close. She approached one of the scientists walking in the hallway. "Tell the development teams to hurry up with putting the finishing touches on the 'devices'."

"Whoa," Dallas walked in front of her blocking her way. "Slow down, we don't want to rush this. One wrong move and we can all go sky high."

"Things will be fine," she reassured gently shoving Dallas to the side. "Plus, this is no time to be too cautious. It's time we declare war."

 _If this is how you want for things to come to an end for our family little brother, then so be it. I will oblige you with a merciful death_. Aria gritted her teeth with a most determined look to see her brother's bloodshed by her own hands. War was coming, and the bells were ringing louder than ever now.

* * *

 **A/N: Another long chapter dealing a seriously big blow to the Cradle of Hope…or did they?**

 **Also a musical suggestion to start listening from when Alex enters the weapons facility to get the explosives and what not, look up "Chasing Shadows" by Scott Holmes.**

 **What did you think about the chapter?**

 **Constructive feedback is always appreciated! :)**

 **Thanks for reading and your support, I appreciate it.**

 **~ Monty**


	11. Do Not Regret

**Chapter 10: Do Not Regret**

The BGC stared out of their ships as they broke through the atmosphere to yet another planet containing the reds and blues. The pilot hovered the ship in the air studying the land far off into the distance. It didn't take long for them to determine where the ship needed to be at. The BGC stood by the Pelican's exit as it slowly descended just out of the battlefield's reach. Just from within the ship, everyone could hear muffled sounds of gun fire and explosions. They all looked at one another worriedly. Sarge reloaded his shotgun ready for a battle if need be. "This one might be harder than the others."

The doors opened, they rushed outside to the hot fumes of a recent explosion and ran through the fields without any fear of pain. But every one of them knew just how hard their heart jumped, and how heavy their chests felt and the fear they felt while not of pain, but one of death. Normally immune to the fear of death, they felt it the most here with each explosion. Caboose however ran through the field with Freckles in hand singing the sound of happiness. "Wheeeee!"

They all ran into cave formations that lead out to the active battlefield on the other side. Washington motioned for the reds to break off. "This time we will go to the blues, you guys go to the reds."

Sarge agreed and led his soldiers to the reds. One red hid behind cover and aimed his weapon at Simmons. Sarge stoodsin between the barrel slowly lowering it with force. "Stand down son. We are with the red army."

"Oh am I glad to see you guys," the soldier called in to his commander. "Sir, break out the good booze for tonight because we have reinforcements!"

The blues on the opposite end of the field felt the same about Washington's group. Tucker stopped the soldier from trying to take the misunderstanding any further. "Chill out dude, we are not here to act as your reinforcements."

"You are not?"

"No," Tucker answered afraid of getting involved in this war. "I like to keep my head on my shoulders you know."

"Whatever," the blue and red soldiers shoved past their respective conversationalists and shouted. "Just stay out of our way!"

Grif looked at the soldier rushing off to the battle and said. "That went well, good job team."

"No need to be such a downer man," Simmons answered crossing his arms. Donut agreed. "If we believe in positivity, I'm sure we can do positive things gang!"

Sarge radioed in to Washington and explained their side of the situation. "You to huh, we will need another approach."

"The only other thing we may be able to do is approach them together as a team," suggested Wash. It was not an ideal solution, but the best one they could conceive right now. The team ran out into the battlefield. Their A.I. partners coordinated their movements to better their chances of reaching the marked area unharmed. They all jumped down onto the ground upon the tremors of the ground beneath their feet. Bombs and missiles fell from the sky launched from the opposing bases. Tucker stood up with his microphone turned on, and in an annoyed voice he spoke. "Hey assholes, stop your fighting for a minute!"

"Who is this douche bag?" shouted one of the red, and then quickly proceeded to fire his gun at him. The others raised their weapons and now focused their fire at the BGC. "We warned you not to get involved!"

"Oh that's it," Simmons radioed the Pelicans for support and announced to the rest of the canyon. "Hey jerks, listen. If you don't stop fighting right now, we will call in our ship to destroy your bases. How long do you think you can continue fighting without your supplies then?"

As the Pelicans hovered over them with the guns and missile launchers aimed at the two bases, the soldiers looked up with contempt and raised their weapons. "Down with the ship!"

"Yeah!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Donut bouncing several grenades in his hands. "Now I may not be the best base ball player, but oh boy do I have a killer throwing arm."

"It's true, he isn't kidding," Tucker added. "You know, I even thought he was a chick the first time we met. The pink armor can be really confusing."

"I don't see why that bit is necessary to the conversation," Simmons argued. Tucker shook his shoulders. "I just felt like adding it in there, just like how I felt like adding in about how I met your mother on the weekend, bow-chicka-b..."

"My dad left when I was little, and my mom is dead."

"Bow...wow…," Tucker simply gazed at the maroon soldier in complete silence. Caboose looked at the others and cleared his throat. "Awkward."

"You guys are idiots!" shouted one of the blues. Grif scoffed back at that soldier. "Oh yea, well…your face is an idiot."

"Real nice comeback there," Simmons laughed. Grif held up two middle fingers. "Shut up, you know what I meant!"

"If you boys are done being idiots," Sarge interrupted turning back to the two warring sides. "Listen, we need you lug heads to work together to help us out."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because there is a threat that will require each and every one of us to work together," Wash explained. "Said threat has an army, if we ever hope to stop them, then we need an army of our own."

"Hmm, I don't know," one of the red soldiers spoke in an unsure voice. "I mean why would we work together when all of us on the red team are the sworn enemies of the blue team?"

"Yeah, and why would the blue team, the sworn enemy of the dirty reds, work with them?"

"That's bullshit," Tucker heartily laughed much to the confusion of the two sides. "That's all a lie created by the now defunct Freelancer project."

"Wait a minute," one of the reds raised their hand. "You mean I got recruited into an army that's built on a lie?"

"Pretty much dude."

"I left my wife and kids behind thinking I was going to fight a war to create a brighter future for them!"

Donut raised a hand of sympathy for the soldier. "If it makes you feel any better, all the time you spent here is valuable experience that probably taught you many things."

"It doesn't."

"I left my family and friends behind for this bullshit to," many soldier proclaimed in anger. "All this was for a lie. We were just toyed with?!"

"Uh oh," Washington stepped up to center stage. "Okay guys, let's all just calm down. Deep breaths, remember, deep breaths."

After a few breathing exercises, the whole field was calm and thinking with a clearer head. One of the blues asked. "So, how does uniting benefit all of us?"

"Once the mission is over," Simmons started. "You can all either go back home, we can have you all be discharged from the UNSC, or come back here to continue this brainless war."

"Oi!" one of the blue soldiers raised his rifle at Simmons. "This ain't no brainless war! I lost some friends out here you know!"

Grif stepped in between the rifle and Simmons. "Take a chill pill and calm down bro. That was just a joke, also, sorry for your loss."

"Men, listen," Sarge stood atop a large rock, from where he was able to get a great view of everyone now in front of him. "I know that suddenly being told that your military career has been a lie all this time is devastating. In fact, when it happened to me, I quit, but then I got back up on that horse again to go for one of the greatest beat downs of my life. Bad things will always happen, sometimes what we believe in turns out to be completely wrong, or fabricated. But what defines a true soldier is their determination and will to move forward. So, we are not here to order you to go, we won't even force anyone to come along, but as fellow soldiers who were once part of the freelancer program, I ask that you let go of the hatred and fight for the greater good. It's time we wipe the slate clean."

The soldiers looked around in silence. One of the reds sighed and said. "You know what, I'm in."

"Yeah, let's go fuck some shit up!"

The others cheered and agreed with Sarge. The BGC had found themselves another addition to their army. Washington nodded his head in respect towards Sarge. _Sometimes I really do forget just how great of a leader he can be amidst the stupidity these guys put me through_. He radioed for their Pelicans to land and started taking the soldiers on board. "Say goodbye to your home for now."

"This shithole ain't our home!" shouted one of the blues. The reds agreed in a loud cheer. "Once we are done with this mission, I'm going home to where my rocker girl is!"

"And I'm going to go home to eat my mama's meat pie."

"Yeah, that's cool Jim, you do that."

"What is the meat pie like?" Grif asked and Jim spoke with a watery mouth. "It will be the most delicious thing you will ever put in your body."

"I will be sure to put in an express mail order for it then."

* * *

Alex watched as the doctors checked Carolina's condition. Church noticed his presence and rendered himself onto one of the holographic displays. "Oh look, are you here to get us into more of a mess?"

Alex remained quiet listening to Church vent his frustration. It was clear to the young man that he was not welcomed here, but then it was more evident that the same held true coming from Chloe. She walked in on the two and inched her way closer to Alex. "What are you doing over here?"

"Relax. I just wanted to come visit Carolina, to see how she is doing."

"She will be doing a lot better without you here."

"Let's dial down the anger," Alex held up his hands to keep her at a distance. She moved closer forcibly and pointed a finger at his chest. "What can you even do aside from remind her of her bad experiences?"

He looked at Carolina from the side of his eye and apologized in silence. _I know nothing can help fix any traumas that you may have experienced_. Alex was then tugged on the arm and dragged away by Chloe. He loosened the grip and jerked her away. "What is up with you?"

"Do you realize the amount of damage she has experienced?" Chloe asked demanding for answers and why he was compelled to act the way he did. Alex shook his head. "I only ever saw her in the bandages. Before I could take a moment to get a good look at her, we had to escape the facility."

"Well for one thing, she is missing her trigger finger."

"Missing?"

"It's been cut off," Chloe stated now louder than before. "Process that for a minute. Then we found a nail stuck in her thigh. On top of that, parts of her body have been skinned. She has a broken bone and damage in areas that weren't even directly touched. Do you see now? This is the type of damage she has experienced under your rash and stupid actions."

Alex remained quiet with head low, and guilt evident in his eyes. Chloe rested her hands on her waist and took in a deep breath. "She is fighting with everything she has right now just to stay alive. Medication and our technology can only do so much."

"Do you think she will be able to…fight again?"

Chloe raised her head angered to hear the question. She walked close and slapped him hard, and slapped him again. "You have some nerve asking that when I just told you about how her condition is. She would be lucky to just walk out in public again without fear of being abducted and tortured!"

Chloe pushed him back against a wall and huffed out some air. "I'm disappointed in your stupidity, and disregard for not just your own, but other people's safety as well."

"Yeah," Alex whispered with a low head and a low voice. "You and Siris both."

He started to apologize, but was quickly stopped by Chloe who raised her hand high up again. But instead of following it through with a slap or a punch, she simply let it fall to her side in frustration. "Apologies won't fix shit now. No amount of 'sorry' can help repair Carolina to how she was before."

"I understand that," he replied trying to look her in the eyes, and yet her anger kept him from doing so. "And that's why I want to start doing better. I did what I had to. It was all to find answers and I did. I know what needs to be done now. I understand that I can't do this alone, and that I am a part of a team."

Alex reached out towards Chloe against her mood. He took her into a warm embrace initially against her will, but soon even her anger disappeared in this affectionate gesture. He rested his head on the side of her face. "I'm sorry for a lot of things in life Chloe. Not having the opportunity to answer your feelings before all this went down is one of them. But thank you for being in my life, and thank you for being angry at me."

"W- What are you saying all of a sudden?!"

"I guess I'm trying to answer your confession from before," he explained with a sober gaze. "To be honest, I don't know my own feelings well enough to know what it means to fall in love, or what that feels like between two people."

Chloe shoved him away with a moderately heavy punch to his arm. "Don't think you can sway me so easily with a few pretty words."

"I wasn't expecting to."

"But," Chloe rubbed the back of her neck and looked to the side of the room nervously. "I guess I will be there by your side as long as you swear to do the right thing this time."

He hardened his gaze at her with great determination and said. "I swear."

Chloe playfully punched him in the same spot saying. "You better go on damage control with Church, and Siris even though he already gave you a stern talking to."

"Yeah," Alex answered rubbing his arm. "That's one hell of a punch you got there by the way. I guess all that time you spent working out is finally beginning to pay off."

* * *

Aria caressed the spherical shaped object of great destructive power. She smiled with a sense of victory. _You may have destroyed the ground floor of our base Alex, but you still have so much to fear_. She eyed the timer window and asked one of the scientists. "The time is customizable, correct?"

"Yes, and you can detonate it remotely ma'am."

"Good," she stood up clapping for the team. "Congratulations on a job well done. This work of art will prove to be very useful in our endeavors."

Aria turned to the generals and a few other soldiers. "Prepare the broadcasting room to record a message. Make sure to have the best security so the location of the recording can never be traced."

The generals nodded their head and left to carry out the orders. Aria motioned for a few of the soldiers to walk towards the objects and ordered. "Carry the bombs to our many Pelicans for safe storage. Be careful with them, they are nuclear in nature."

"Yes ma'am," the soldiers began shifting the bombs out of the room. Aria stared at them with her arms crossed. _Now the whole world will know fear, revolution and change most necessary for people to better themselves_.

* * *

Siris watched over Carolina's medical pod. He hunched forward to check on a few readings, and with satisfaction he leaned backwards. Siris closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He reached into his pocket and hit his fingers against a metal object. He retreated the object which was circular in shape and looked at it with a studious eye. It was the change his daughter had left behind in the park. He gripped it in his hand with an uncertain smile. _What am I even hoping for by holding on to this? It's not like things can be fixed all of a sudden even if I have this coin. It's not like this is some magic coin or something…if only things like that actually existed_. Siris reached into his back pocket on his slimming suit and stared at a family photo taken when his daughter was very young. He looked at his wife and quickly averted his eyes. _Even now, your face brings the happier memories of my life to surface. No matter how hard I try, I just can never seem to move on from you Meghan_.

Siris' eyes adjusted focus from the photo to the pod when he saw the subject move. Carolina opened her eyes, and almost panicked being trapped within this case, that was until she saw Siris. "Calm down, you are safe now. You are back at the ATSG base."

Carolina was quickly introduced to the pain all throughout her body. She looked downwards and found that all of her clothes but her underwear were stripped, and every inch of her body was wrapped in bandages like a mummy. Her eyes widened in shock. She lifted her right hand in an effort to touch the bandages, but the missing finger put her further into shock. "W- Where is my finger?"

Siris stood up holding up his hands to try and calm her down. Carolina looked from her hand to Siris desperately. "Where is my finger?!"

"Just calm down Carolina," Siris scratched his forehead. "Um…we couldn't retrieve your finger."

"Couldn't retrieve it?" Carolina then began to remember the things that happened to her during her captivity. The torture she experienced engraved a deep rooted sense of hate towards Aria. Carolina closed her eyes and lied back down. She gritted her teeth still trying to come to terms that a part of her body was now forever lost. "How long have I been here?"

"It has been six days since you were brought here. At that time you were unconscious," Siris explained going into the details of the urgency behind her initial injuries and the threat to her life. Carolina closed the world around her only self absorbed in the thought of how useless she had just become. She gritted her teeth feeling a sharp sting of pain course from her jaw to her brain. Siris' voice was nothing but a dulled violin now where its playing was only heard by deaf ears. Carolina lifted an arm, and moaned in pain as she rested the forearm against her eyes. "This is fucking great…just great. I wanted to do some good, to help the world with my abilities after forced to do some horrible things in the Freelancer project, but this is a bad deal, a real bad fucking deal."

Church remained quiet unsure of what to say that could help console his host. Siris rested a hand on the pod's window and said. "It's not that bad Carolina, you can recover."

"Not that bad?" she asked stunned by his choice of words. "What good is a soldier without their trigger finger?!"

"We can retrain you Carolina. Instead of using your right hand, you will use the left one as the dominant one to hold your guns with."

"It's not that simple. Doing so will take a very long time, and time has never been a luxury we have ever had."

"But I will still try," Siris spoke with a strong resolve. "You are a true fighter Carolina, believe in yourself. The power of the mind is unparalleled."

Carolina closed her eyes and finally smirked. "At least one of us has faith in me. I don't know if it will work out…"

"It will," Siris answered with a stern voice. "If you go in with a defeatist attitude, you are more likely to fail."

Carolina nodded her head in understanding. "You are right, I will try. Thank you Siris."

The older man sat back down and the two stared at one another in an uncomfortable silence. Carolina was desperate for a topic. "So, how have things been going between you and your daughter, any progress?"

Siris quickly averted his eyes with a tired sigh. "Heh, ever since that day at the park, I haven't been able to bring myself to approach her. Sometimes I would see her out and about with her friends after school when I go for the patrol. But even though they are all there in the open, so easily approachable, I still can't seem to find the courage necessary to do so."

"Sometimes courage isn't the first thing to come," Carolina remarked. "But the action to strike up a conversation can be the trigger for courage to follow through with."

"Does any of that really matter when it comes time to act?" he asked looking at the floor contemplatively. "I mean, I have always been petrified by the notion of rejection, so I can't even bring myself to approach her for starters."

"Then ask yourself this," Carolina looked at him with a very serious face. "Just how willing are you to die an old man, filled with regrets, especially the one of letting the chances of fixing your family slip by?"

"When you put it like that, I'm not too keen on the idea."

"Then get out there and show that girl that she still has a father who cares for her. I know you will do fine. You always have in the short time I have known you. Things may not seem fine initially, but in the end they always work out somehow."

Siris stood up scratching the back of his head. "Thanks."

He turned to leave but stopped at the door frame. "Carolina, when you are able bodied, we will begin your training."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah well don't get too excited, I don't plan on going easy on you just because of your recent recovery."

"That will make it all the better," laughed Carolina putting both Siris and Church at ease. _It looks like she will be just fine as well_.

* * *

"What is this?" Washington wondered staring at the shocking image of Carolina's condition. The others felt their worries grow, as well as the anger. Tucker stomped forward and pointed a finger in absolution. "You said you would have her back safe and sound, you promised, we trusted you and this is what happens?!"

Siris looked at his desk in silence letting Tucker slur whatever words came to his mind. Washington moved to his side and placed a firm grip on the aqua soldiers' shoulder. Tucker shifted his head in Wash's direction furious and willing to give Siris more scolding. Wash however forced Tucker back behind him and asked for him to calm down. "I must agree with Tucker however. You do understand that this doesn't help to establish trust between our two parties right Siris?"

"I realize that," the ATSG base leader stared Washington in the visor, as if to try and look beyond the protective helmet and into the eyes of the man that maybe. Siris clenched his right fist in his left hand and bowed his head. "I understand what happened is a colossal failure on our part. But we will do everything we can to help with her recovery."

"Che, yeah I bet you will," Tucker pointed at the screen in sarcasm and threw up his arms in disbelief. Washington held Tucker back and shook his head in absurdness that this situation presented. "What can you even do now considering the damage?"

Siris looked away from the screen again letting out a defeated sigh. "I…I'm not too sure. But Carolina has chosen to train herself again in order to make effective use of her left hand. At this point training is the only thing she can do to build her body again. Of course until she is ready, she will be kept off of field missions."

"She better," Washington raised a sharp finger at the man surprising everyone around him. They had never seen him talk like this after he officially became a part of them. He voice trembled with anger, and his tone spoke in a threatening manner. "Because if anything else should happen to her, and it turns out that you or your people could have prevented it, then I will personally come after all of you."

Washington abruptly ended the call and smashed his hand against one of the panels. Tucker shook his head mumbling to himself. "See, this is what happens when you trust a bunch of strangers to get the serious shit done."

"Looks like you were right," Simmons turned to the orange soldier and conceded. "Kind of surprised that the instinctual feeling you were having turned out to be correct."

"Every damn time."

"Hey gang," Donut gathered the attention of everyone around him and said in a chirpy cheery tone hoping to turn the anger into something positive. "We should throw Carolina a party once we get to Earth and finish our mission. She totally deserves it!"

"Yeah," Caboose clapped his hands in excitement and jumped in his spot like a five year old. "I'm so going to get her the best gift ever of all time!"

Tucker looked back and forth from Donut to Caboose and shook his head. With a tired sigh, having had enough of this drama, he walked away hoping to vent his anger out on a few training dummies. Washington watched the BGC split apart, with all of them going to take care of their own tasks and wondered. _Where will the road that we are all on right now take us to, and how will this end?_ He walked into the elevator that led from the bridge to the other levels of the ship. He pressed a floor button without much thought, as if the layout was now second nature to him. _I don't like thinking about this. I want to be more positive, but it could end badly, especially for Carolina. No, I have to be more positive!_ He walked out of the elevator and into his living quarters. Wash removed is helmet letting his skin freely breathe again. _We are going to make it through this, we have to_. He lied down on his bed and closed shut his eyes. _This is just another trial to overcome. Maybe when all of this is over, we could figure something out, to do something else besides just carry around guns and throw punches beating others to a pulp_. He smirked at the image of him and Carolina in their glory days during Project Freelancer. But then he quickly opened his eyes erasing that image from his mind for the moment. _That was the past, but now we have to look forward to the future_.

* * *

Siris stood by the exit, prepared to leave just as he finished the sign out procedure. The door to the unwelcoming cold opened and the mist entered the base before quickly dissipating in the face of the heat. He stepped outside and stared towards the city. _This is it, here I come_. He took in a deep breath, with a quick retrieval of one of their cars, he was off to the city. A few minutes later of driving, he was into the city and quickly found a spot to park the car. Without break, he hurried to the building he so longingly watched over all this time. Siris stopped at the steps of the apartment complex where his ex-wife Meghan and his daughter reside. He checked the time on his watch with growing anxiety and decided to sit down granted he was early.

He retrieved the coin in his pocket and anxiously played with it. He flipped it in between his fingers feeling the metal object slither its way down and up almost like a snake. Upon a very audible laughter however, Siris was broken out of his concentration and looked at the familiar voice. It was her, she was here. Siris watched her wave to her friends as they parted ways. _Okay_ , he took deep breaths. _This is it, show time_. The girl approached the steps and lowered her head nearly passing Siris. That was until he stopped her. The girl backed away with her arms close to her body. _She is scared?_ Siris wondered slightly hurt by the gesture. _But to her I guess I would be just another stranger_. Siris held up the coin, the girl approached it curiously and looked for a response. "This is the change you had left a couple of days ago at the park when you visited with your friends."

 _He came all this way for some small amount of change?_ She asked of herself quickly taking it and turning to leave. But before she took another step, he stopped her with another question. "Do you recognize me?"

The girl shook her head visibly saddening Siris. He looked at his feet quickly finding that the courage that once took so long to build up, was now dwindling. "Um, would you like to know who your father is?"

"You know my dad?"

"Yes, and I also know where he is. Would you like to know more about him?"

The girl took a moment to contemplate this to herself. "I don't know, I mean I'm angry at him for leaving my mom and me, but at the same time I am curious. I want to know what it is like to have a father."

Siris stopped his foot from inching closer to the girl. _I can't do anything that would surprise her too much or make her any more suspicious of me_. He kept his hands firmly behind his back, and the temptation to embrace her at bay. He bent down to her level with a warm smile and said. "I know where your father is."

"Where is he?"

"He is off somewhere fighting a very important war. He is doing it to protect you and your mother."

The girl then tilted her head in a realization which she shared. "But mommy never talks about him, why is that?"

Siris was pinned up against the wall here. He looked at the ground wondering how to best answer this and said. "You see, some bad things happened between those two. Those bad things have left your mother never wanting to speak to your father again."

"Then why hasn't daddy ever tried to visit us to make the bad things all better?"

 _I have tried. Believe me, I have_. Siris lowered his head in a bigger frown than before. The girl was not blind to this change in mood in the older man. She leaned closer and looked him in the eyes asking. "Why are you sad?"

"I'm sad because your father can't come visit you," Siris balled his hand into a fist atop his knee and gritted his teeth. "He can't come because he promised your mother that he won't show himself in front of you two ever again."

"Why?"

"It's because of the bad things that happened between them."

"But if dad were to come back from the war again," the girl fidgeted in one spot both curious and scared to ask this. "Do you think he would want to see us again?"

"You have no idea how much he would love that," Siris stated with severe desperation in his voice. "Your daddy misses you so much that he wishes to see you every day."

The girl thought about the man's words for a moment and clapped her hands deciding on something very important. "Then, do you think you could pass on a message for me sir?"

Siris was a little surprised to hear of this, but he quickly grew to appreciate and be happy from it. "I would be happy to."

"Please tell him that I want to see him again. Even if I will be angry, I just want to know what having a father is like, and what a whole family is like."

Her last few words hit him like a semi-truck of feelings. He nearly gasped as a small tear nearly exited his eye. He closed his eyes hardening his will, and locked the tears away for the moment. He did his best to keep on smiling and nodded in agreement. "I promise to get your message to him."

The girl smiled ecstatically, she happily waved goodbye to him as she entered the apartment complex. He watched with a little wave, he felt helpless as a parent. _What a cruel world it is we live in, a parent unable to embrace their own child_. That tear he held back before could no longer be kept hidden away, the body's will took over his emotions and it slowly dripped down his cheek. _What a cruel world indeed_ , he pondered walking back to the car.

* * *

As Siris pulled up to one of the many city squares, he watched the large monitor broadcasting news 24/7 go on breaking news alert. The newscaster hesitated to say what was the news, her hands were visibly shaking. "Ladies and Gentlemen…, we just have a breaking news alert. This just in, we recently received a message from the group claiming responsibility for all the terrorist bombings across the nation an hour ago."

Siris' eyes opened wide at the news as if he had been shaken out of a sleepy trance. He parked the vehicle at the nearest parking spot and watched the woman on the screen with intrigue. She looked at the desk taking a deep breath. "We will now play the clip as per their instructions."

"Good evening, people of the United States of America," the woman that appeared in the message, standing behind a podium appeared familiar. _That's Aria_ , Siris thought recalling her picture from the stolen data. Back at the ATSG base, Chloe ran for Alex and dragged him into the main room of the base, where they all watched carefully. Alex hardened his gaze at his sister, ignoring everything else around her. "We are the 'Cradle of Hope', or as you better know us through the media slandering, the local gang of petty terrorists. I speak here as the message bearer for your nation, and the world as what we do here will determine the fate of the world and humanity. I ask the various political government officials to stand down, and cease all control over to us."

"Cease all control?" laughed one of the civilians passing by Siris' car. "Like that will ever happen, dumb terrorists."

"This is insane," Alex whispered leaning forward towards the monitor. Aria looked directly into the lens and made her ultimatum. "If you do not comply with our demands, we will be forced to do this through other, more forceful means. We will march the streets of this nation, take it by force for starters and let the world know of the impeding change that humanity has been long overdue for."

Chloe stood by Alex's side taking his hand into hers. He looked at her thankful for her support. She nodded in return with a smile. The two of them knew what this message was going to bring forth in the near future.

"You have one month to decide. We believe that you should be given a chance even though we have some bad past between us. You destroyed my organization once, but we have arisen again and now are in control of the cards. Simply put, comply or be dominated," Aria glared at the camera lens. "Make your choice."

"The video recording stops there," the newscaster announced as the video went black. She cleared her throat talking about how their analyst had studied the tape in-depth and have come to the conclusion that it is genuine. The threat is very real. Alex's mouth fell open as well as Siris'. They both thought the same thing. _This is madness. Even for her, making this public move is practically inviting the military at their doorsteps_. Chloe tightens her grip around his hand and stated. "We can make it through this."

"I know we can," Alex responded slowly lowering his head still in disbelief. "But I am afraid for my sister even after declaring her an enemy."

 _I should have been more attentive as to how broken our family really was_. Alex cursed his own naivety and ignorance as a child. Chloe leaned him back from the monitor, keeping him from watching the rest of the news and guided him back to his room. "What has happened could not be helped. We never knew what your sister was really planning. But now what we can do is combat it with every breath in our body."

"That's still no excuse for being so blind to the suffering my sister endured in her life so far," argued the young assassin as he sat on the bed and punched the wall behind him. Chloe sat down beside him, and gently rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "Alex, reality is always going to be harsh, that is a fact of life. But how we affect it can help alter the various outcomes to the problems we face. Alex, I need you to be determined and make the choices that only the strong can make, to do the right thing."

He eyed her from the side and nodded his head. "I know, I know…"

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter down, and the war approaches even closer now with Aria's publically made ultimatum and choice. What did you think about this chapter?**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed!**

 **Thank you for reading and support :).**

 **~ Monty**


	12. Support the Revolution

**Chapter 11: Support the Revolution**

Siris bent down and wiped the snow away from the code panel to their hidden entrance. He entered the code while trying to gather the innate heat as much as possible. His chest felt tight, and heavy. _That declaration was certainly something_. He eyed the door unlock and flung it open. Closing the door behind him, his eyes adjusted to the white lights inside the base as he slowly and carefully walked down the steps. Siris stopped by the end of the steps to the sign in panel and entered his credentials. Siris looked at the recent entries and raised an eyebrow. _Alex is out. And someone unknown is here?_

He walked into the main room of the base where he was greeted by a single man staring at the computer monitors. The man looked back towards Siris and gave a scowl. "Hello Siris, or do you prefer Mason Wu?"

"What are you doing here?"

"It seems that not even your own soldiers are immune against the desires of money. A shame people can be bought so easily, especially in a government organization like yours," the man held up a paper in the air and gently placed it on the keyboard nearest to Siris. He reached for it and unfolded every curve with anxious eyes. Taking a few minutes to read what seemed like orders from the government, he felt his whole body tense up. "What is this?"

"It is exactly as the paper says," says the official identified by one of the names on the paper. He motioned at a small graphical display on his phone. "See this graph? It's an outline of the financial spending that has taken place by the ATSG, courtesy of one of your own soldiers and our informant. It is to see where your budget goes. Notice anything interesting, or perhaps concerning?"

Siris looked away in realization. The official was quick to take note of the action with a smirk. "Yes, so as you can see the shut down notice of the ATSG is very justified. We can't afford to have you people eat up the budget we give like its chocolate or some other addictive crap. We upon careful discussions have decided that everyone here should be given a week's worth of time to evacuate the base. Options will be available for relocation into another assignment, or simply leaving the government in pursuit for other opportunities."

"You have to be joking," Siris laughed pointing to the notice paper. "You do realize what just happened on the news a few hours earlier right? War was just declared on our nation by a terrorist group!"

"I'm well aware of that. The news was everywhere and travelled fast," the official said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Action will be taken for that in the form of negotiations."

"Since when did our country negotiate with terrorists?"

"Since the day we let a criminal into a government organization," the official retorted with a hard glare. "And especially since the day we put said criminal in charge of the government organization."

The official turned around to leave and waved back. "No further discussions will take place on this matter. The orders are final, deal with it. Have your people out of here in one week."

 _That bastard_ , Siris took the paper and crumpled it in anger. He raised his hand high and threw it down to the ground with great force. _It's easy for you to say we have one week, and how will you negotiate with them when they can't be bargained with? They will only understand the language of force and violence_.

* * *

Out and about in his more casual clothes for once, Alex felt liberated no longer restricted to his armor. He felt like a normal citizen no longer carrying his weapons, but only his knowledge of hand to hand combat. The effects of Aria's declaration didn't take long for Alex to be very concerned about. He watched it in disbelief, shock and worry and the concerned whispers he heard all around him proved that he was in the right.

Amidst the whispers were several interesting insights. But what he could determine was that some dismissed the threat entirely, calling them nothing but a bunch of crazy individuals off their pill. Others however treated the threat with the greatest of attention and seriousness. He even saw an increase in the number of cops out on the street. The number however seemed to be increasing in the direction he walked in. Sounds of what one could describe as chanting became audible to his ears. He turned the corner and the chanting was louder than ever before. The crowd he saw astounded him as they all shouted in support of a particular message. There were no signs held up, only the words spoken by the protestors that seemed to be taking place against the nation's government.

Alex approached one of the many officers with an outstretched handshake of peace. The officer looked at the young man and shook his hand as an instinctive gesture. Alex smiled and pointed to the large crowd hoping to inquire. "What is going on here with this protest officer?"

"What is going on indeed," the officer smirked with the shake of his head in disbelief just like with the other officers. "Apparently they want the government to give up complete control to Cradle of Hope. It seems that more were in support of this group than we thought, and more than what the numbers suggested."

"This is clearly promoting the terrorist organization. So why is this demonstration even allowed to take place?"

"Oh believe me, I would love to stop it," the officer answered, although as Alex had expected, there was a 'but'. "But doing so would be a violation of their free speech, something that can turn into a huge debacle."

"Even if this 'free speech' is to support terrorism?"

"Hey, I never claimed that the law was perfect," the officer replied shrugging his shoulders. "Trust me. We are all frustrated that this is allowed to happen. But my colleagues and I have been warned against taking any actions against these supporters unless violence was to break out. Because then they would be violating their own rights for free speech and obstructing the peace."

The officer took off his helmet and whistled still taken aback by the crowd. "Still, hard to believe so many people would pop up to show their support for the terrorist organization."

"Not really," Alex argued back getting a questionable look from the officer. "What I mean is that this organization has been around for a long time. While it is true they went in hibernation mode for a while, they still actively recruited people from all across the human inhabited colonies and societies. It wasn't direct recruitment, but one done through other means such as social media, private propaganda sites accessible only with a password and other low key methods."

Alex took note of a woman that passed by him and walked in strides towards one of the protestors. She walked with a high head, clearly proud of herself and of what she was about to do perhaps. She tapped the shoulder of one of the protestors who looked at her with an irritated face. She ignored the hint and directly confronted them. "Stop this and leave our city!"

The protestor scoffed at the woman with the shake of his head and continued to shout his belief. She was however not stopped by this man's rude behavior. "Think of the children passing on the streets and all the people who just want to live in peace. We don't want to deal with this bullshit protest supporting terrorism!"

The protestor finally felt their nerve crack. They glared at the woman causing some caution in her. "You don't know anything, and you are an ignorant fool!"

The protestor pushed the woman away nearly shoving her down to the ground. "You will get exactly what you deserve when the glorious Cradle of Hope takes over. They will bring hope to us while condemn you non-believers to an eternal suffering!"

"That will never happen," the woman quickly stood her ground against the man that tried to impose a towering sense of presence over her. "We will never bow to terrorists!"

The protestor knew he would get nowhere with this woman. Uttering a few words of anger, he raised a hand ready to beat the woman senseless. The officer besides Alex became very alert. "Uh oh, I better go stop this."

But before the officer could even move, Alex had already made it to the two where he stopped the protestor's slap mid-way. "Know your place you scum."

Alex twisted the arm and kicked one foot in causing the protestor to lose their balance. The protestor reacted with a shout alerting the others around him. They watched the young man single-handedly bring the protestor down to a squealing mess. The protestors quickly raised their fingers in an attempt to drive a certain social narrative to benefit their group. "They are heretics. All those who are against change are heretics and deserve to die!"

A few of them even took out hidden weapons such as a pocket knife, wooden sticks and other obscure portable devices of pain. The officers all raised their batons and rushed to the scene. The fighters surrounded Alex and gave him one last chance to apologize. Alex laughed at the offer, and subsequently their shocked faced at seeing how not everyone would agree with their belief system. He stretched his neck and said. "Okay, let's play."

They all rushed Alex at the same time. But before they could make any meaningful attacks, he ducked and used the gap between the pairs of legs to escape. He stood up and tackled one of the attackers down to the ground. He took their stick and beat them on the head creating uncomfortable noises of their skull being smashed. Alex jumped backwards at a swipe of the pocket knife. He chose to keep his distance with this one, not too keen on having his intestines hang out of his body after all. Alex kicked the pocket knife wielder on the wrist causing extreme discomfort and loss of grip. Alex reached down for the knife and kicked him in the knees. Before the attacker had time to react, they fell hitting their ground against the cement side walk.

The other two didn't last very long against Alex's superior training with both of them getting an intimate introduction to the ground. The officers stood both in shock and surprise, they were nearly compelled to clap for his victory and skill but knew they could not as it may glorify Alex under negative intentions. As good of a deed people may do in this day and age, others would still be so easily offended by the littlest of things.

Alex kicked the weapons away and glared at the other protestors. It was evident from their silence that they would pose no threat to anyone now. Fear was as clear as the blue sky in their eyes. Alex looked at the woman he had saved and noticed no injuries. He walked past her and nodded his head to the officer he had recently spoken to who in return smiled and waved his hand. Alex stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept his head low in deep thoughts. These were thoughts that could only be found in the dark parts of his mind, as dark as the deep abyss of an ocean. _Is this how you foresaw the world changing sis, even though this is done through violence?_

Alex stopped and breathed out a cool mist. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He remembered how strict his parents were towards him about instilling values of peace. _They treated you differently, so did they instill the importance of violence for change in you?_ Alex felt the cold cling to his skin feeling refreshed from the minor sweat her worked up fighting the protestors. _Changing the world through violence and destruction will never equate to a positive change. It will just breed more damn negativity_.

* * *

Carolina slowly opened her eyes. The blur cleared away from the blindingly white light. She looked around to find herself completely alone, and her bandages changed. The suffocation within the pod was starting to get to her having spent who knows how many days in here now, only allowed out for food or the occasional washroom trip with Chloe's help. Carolina looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. _Just lying down for this long is starting to make me tired_. She clenched her hands into fists finding the pain to be much subdued than before. "Church, are you still here?"

"I'm still here sis," he appeared by her right side outside of the pod using the holographic projectors. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Has the situation with the Cradle of Hope developed any further?"

"Nope, nothing has changed in the six days since the declaration."

"I see," Carolina looked at the locks of the medical pod and stared at her ally with emotions unfamiliar to him. In a desperate voice she begged. "Church, I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to override the controls and open this pod."

He nearly fazed out of picture because of shock as his image visibly blinked a few times. "You can't be serious. You are not ready."

"The world won't wait for me to take my own sweet time to be ready," argued Carolina. Church however still felt strongly against her decision. "I won't open it."

"Then are you prepared to live with this decision knowing that I can be out there saving lives?" Carolina proposed putting him on a tough spot. "Would you be happy knowing that because of your choice there were more sacrifices than necessary?"

"You don't know that," Church crossed his arms taking a few steps backwards. "And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if this decision cost you your life sis."

"One life for the safety of many is not an ideal solution," Carolina slowly turned her body towards Church with a few grunts in between. "But it is better than the loss of many just to keep one person safe. This is war we are talking about after all."

Church understood that this back and forth bickering will get him nowhere. She was not willing to agree with his perspective, and he wasn't willing to agree with hers. He knew that he would just have to agree to disagree. While Carolina still tried to persuade him, his decision was made. At least, that was the case until she decided to make a promise that made him question himself. "Church, I promise not to do anything alone that could endanger my life."

"That's hardly believable considering how you followed Alex against my protests. Not to mention, this is a war you will be going into, how can you avoid the dangerous things?"

"You can't," she whispered in realization just how weak her argument was. "You know, you were right to tell me not to go. I admit that what happened was partially my fault and perhaps this outcome is the consequence of that choice, or karma one could say."

"That's some fucked up karma then."

Carolina looked up at the ceiling and breathed in deeply. Her chest moved up and down in a strangely relaxing rhythm for her partner. She continued as soon as Church was done. "This time, I know just how important it is for me to be a part of this team. Everyone will need to work together to overcome the final obstacle. Church, I will never do anything alone, I will ask for help when I need to and I swear that I will keep myself safe."

Church stared at her face for any signs of a lie. He could detect none, and after dedicating a few sub-routines to the thought process, he sighed and undid the locks. "Alright, you would just override me if I don't agree anyways."

"That will never happen," Carolina answered slowly sitting up with the opening case. "I have no intention of ever suppressing your free will. Thank you for being cooperative and understanding."

"Just try and take it slow."

She hung her legs over the edge and slowly slid towards the ground. As her feet touched the cold ground, she felt her whole body shiver. With great strength, more so than usual she pushed herself off the bed. But the moment she relied on her legs to lock in place and stand her up, they gave away and her whole body fell like a dead husk on the floor. Church reached out in worry. "Sis!"

"My body," she huffed surprised at her own lack of stamina. "It has gotten so weak."

"Take it easy," Church pointed to the medical pod. "Remember, you are still recovering. So just get back in the pod. You tried. There is no shame in getting back into the pod sis."

Carolina did her best to get back up, but her arms failed in giving the strength she needed. She fell flat on her face again with a loud grunt this time which reached the ears of Siris passing by. He looked into the medical room and noticed the pod opened. His eyes widened with worry and rushed inside to study the situation, get any hints of what may have happened and with slight shock he found her grovelling on the floor. He bent down to check her pulse, but before he could reach out to her, she stopped him. "I'm fine Siris, I'm fine."

"Then what are you doing down there? You should be in the pod resting."

"I'm kind of guilty here," Church raised a hand sitting on the side atop a digital box. Carolina shook her head and said. "I asked him to open the pod. I guess my body isn't ready to support my weight right now."

"That's why it's a better idea that you rest," retorted Siris. He helped her up and sat her down on the bed. As soon as he went to push her down, she relented with everything she had. "I need to begin building up my body again."

"Oh that," Siris' somber tone did not sit well with Carolina. She stared at him worriedly. He gave clear cut signs of trouble through his disappointed gaze at the floor. "What is it Siris?"

"Um…your training maybe a harder option now than I originally thought."

"Why?"

"I got a notice from the government. They are shutting us down due to the recent events and how fast we have been eating through the money they allocate to us."

Carolina felt those words hit her like a spear piercing her chest. She knew that she was partially responsible for this and her once curious face turned to regret. "I…I am sorry to hear that. I am sorry."

"Yeah, well we will have to figure something out."

"What about you though and your daughter? Wasn't this job meant to be a way of clearing up your past, and get a brand new start?"

"Plans don't always work out the way we hope for them to," he smirked gently patting her on the back. "Don't beat yourself up over this. We had been given a week to figure something out, reassignment or simply quitting the government. Tomorrow is the day that time expires, tomorrow is the big day."

"We can't just give up on the organization," Carolina leaned forward against his chest in an attempt to gently hit him, but even her hit felt like a fist swinging with no power behind it, like a toddler swinging their arms randomly. Siris held her by her shoulders and gently sat her back upon noticing her loss of balance. "I know we can't, but honestly at this point I'm at a loss as to what we should be doing or what we can even do to save the ATSG."

Carolina thought for a quick moment before a familiar name popped up in her head. Church looked at her citing his dislike of the idea. "Please don't."

"We don't have any other choice Church," remarked the orange haired woman. She asked for him to bring up the data. Siris looked at the display, name, UNSC rank, picture, and brief history of the man she presented him with. "Meet my 'friend'. He has quite a few influential contacts in the UNSC. One call to him, and I can ask for a favor to keep the ATSG afloat. Trust me, he can get it done."

"But will the government even bother listening to anything that the UNSC has to say in their matters?"

"It doesn't hurt to try," Carolina argued noting that if it fails, they are gone either way. But if it does succeed, it will give them all another fighting chance. Siris conceded to her logic and agreed. "Alright, let's do it."

"I'll make the call right away," Church replied disappearing completely into the digital realm. Siris bowed his head and thanked them both. He also gently pushed Carolina down onto the bed and locked the medical pod. "For now, you should still get more rest."

"Will you promise to train me once this matter is handled?"

"If we have access to our facilities," the man spoke turning to leave. "You will have my undivided attention for your training. But for now, just relax and rest. Your body needs it."

A few minutes after he had left, Church materialized and confirmed the status of the call. "So it went well, I think a few of my nodes just died from the sheer stupidity of Muffins. You know, to be honest, I never thought there would come a day where I go asking for a favor from the man himself."

"Neither did I," Carolina remarked slowly closing her eyes. "Life sure has strange ways of working things out sometimes."

"That it does," Church took note of Carolina's brain activity. It was slowly slipping into a rest position with the brainwaves relaxing, and her consciousness slipping into the world below the sub-consciousness. "Sweet dreams sis, sweet dreams."

* * *

The next day…

Siris sat by the computer with two suitcases by his sides. He watched the messaging system anxiously waiting for that one message that could perhaps save their organization. It was a new day full of new possibilities, or as the saying went. He could only hope that these new possibilities manifest into something positive for him and his soldiers. He leaned back in the chair realizing just how tense he was growing. _Please do not let it end like this_. He gripped his hands together and held them high up in the air as if to pray to some invisible entity. The moment he opened his eyes, almost as if his prayers were heard he received a new message from the main communication center from the government office. He took in a deep breath and puffed it out. He readied himself for the contents of what could very well decide their fate. With a quick, decisive single click he eyed the message and a smile quickly painted across his face. _It worked, it actually worked_. Siris began laughing to himself rather hysterically freaking out others in the room with him.

The others took a gander at the message as soon as he jumped out of the chair and ran to the medical room. The others broke out into a loud cheer raising the energy high in the room, and the spirits higher than ever before. Siris entered the medical room and opened the pod. Church popped out of the holographic display and looked at what the head boss was doing. "Hey Siris, you do know she needs to rest right?"

"We did it!"

"Um, are you okay?"

"You two did it!"

Carolina looked at the man in sudden realization and a smile extended from one cheek bone to the other. Church too finally understood the meaning behind Siris' joy now and let out a relaxed sigh. "You know, that son of a bitch can be deranged, insane and crazy but he sure does pull through when you need him to."

She sat up with his help and became a little embarrassed to see him grasp onto both her hands with his head bowed in great appreciation. "Thank you so much! Tell it to your friends, to whoever else you want to, but thank you for saving the ATSG."

Carolina looked at the older man contemplatively and felt innately happy. _The ATSG is your family I see. I'm happy we could help keep one family together at least_. She thought remembering back to one of her most influential connections when she worked her construction job, Madison. Carolina however loosened her hands from his against his concerned look. She moved over the edge and rested her feet on the ground. "I have some good news for you as well."

The base leader tilted his head in curiosity. Carolina pushed herself off of the bed and stood up on her own two legs. Siris was taken back at the amount of progress her health made in the span of one day. She could tell he was confused and wanted answers. "I practiced quite a lot yesterday with Chloe's help."

"I see. That's good then. It shows your commendable work ethic and dedication."

She almost fell over but Siris caught her in time. "But it seems that your body isn't fully recovered yet."

"Looks that way," Church agreed bringing up her medical reports. Carolina asked for him to do away with the reports. "I'm still a little weak, but I can get strong again. So it's time to live up to that promise Siris. Let's begin our training."

The man knew that he had better well deliver on his words for Carolina's wrath was not something anyone would want to suffer. Siris paged for Chloe to accompany Carolina, help remove her bandages and dress her in her training outfit. With Chloe as the support, and Carolina pushing every fibre of her body to get to the training facility, she felt a small sense of accomplishment in no longer needing to rest as often or be out of breath. "Where is Alex? I haven't seen him around today, and he hasn't visited for the last couple of days either."

Chloe caught her breath after setting Carolina down by one of the benches to the side and stretched her back. "From what I know, he has been going out more often now days to study the changes that declaration has brought to society."

Chloe stretched her arms thinking of getting in on the training as well. "According to him, the changes are bad, really bad as more and more people are awakening and identifying with the terrorist group."

"A belief in one person is harmless, but when it begins to spread and affect a larger group, that is when it becomes a threat," Carolina said earning a nod from her partner. "Exactly."

"It is a shame that he is out so often now," Carolina rested her hands on her thighs waiting for Siris. "I really wanted to talk to him."

"Talk to him about what?"

"For one thing, I wanted to tell him that my condition is not his fault."

"Uh," Church suddenly materialized by the corner of the gym where the only holographic display unit rested. "It actually is sis. If he hadn't triggered that base wide alert, you would have never been caught."

"But according to him, I was never supposed to be there in the first place, remember?" Carolina retorted recalling the note she was entrusted with by Alex. "In fact, I should have never made that impulsive decision to go after him in the first place. But it happened and I accept these consequences. They are a result of my choices, not his."

"You can't be serious sis."

"I'm, granted he is partially responsible as setting off that explosion and triggering the alarm was pretty dumb. But I'm just as much at fault as he is."

Siris stood at the door frame having heard the bulk of the conversation and clapped his hands in great respect. "You are a strong woman, you really are Carolina. Most of us just wanted to beat the living crap out of him when we saw him again. You on the other hand want to talk to him, and be able to forgive him face to face. There is something very admirable in that."

Carolina smirked at the compliment, trying to hide her blush. "It's not me who is strong, but the people around me who make me strong."

Siris readied some equipment setting it in the most ideal routine position. "I promise to get your message to Alex, and send him your way."

Carolina started to stand up. Chloe wanted to help, but as soon as she acted, she was halted by a single motion from Carolina. The ex-Freelancer did her best to stand up, pushing her own body beyond its limits and finally managed it. "I would appreciate that."

"No need to mention it," Siris reached for his trainer's gloves and tightened them around his wrists. He motioned all around the gym and said. "Now, I want you to walk from one end point to another for as long as you can. If you fall along the way and you know you can do more, then I will expect you to pick yourself up. There will be no help and no pity, at least not while you train."

"Noted," Carolina answered with a huge grin, ready to tackle the challenge.

* * *

Washington wiped his forehead rereading the message he recently received from the ATSG for the twentieth time. _This can't be real. This is too soon_. His mind became stuck at the one month time limit. _How are we supposed to complete our army in one month? Forget training, the recruiting in itself takes quite a bit of time_. He hunched forwards at the desk and racked his brain against the table for solutions. _It seems like we will soon be going into super busy mode either way_. Washington stood up from the computer chair and stretched his body. _What will be the most ideal route? Think Wash, think. I know that there is still the training we need to handle. I may have to dump those duties onto someone else as I want to ensure that the recruitment process goes smoothly for every run. Can one month really be enough?_

 _No_ , Washington leaned against the desk still deep in thought. _It doesn't matter whether it is enough or not. The war will still happen. So it is up to us to be ready by that time frame_. He breathed out a tired sigh. _Things were so much simpler back in our canyon_. He took out his dog tags and stared at them fondly as a dam of memories flooded his mind. His days as a Freelancer come rushing to him in a high of nostalgia. He gently brushed his name engraved into the metal plate and recalled the training stages of the project. _Oh how simple things were back then. I wonder if I yearn for a simple life again, one that has nothing to do with guns or violence perhaps_.

The tags slipped through his fingers, hanging off of its edge, swaying back and forth in almost a hypnotic rhythm. _What could I even do now other than be just a soldier? What other life can I so easily adapt to aside from the one of an army man?_ Washington took the dog tags and stored them away in his pockets. _Look at me thinking like an old man, wondering what to do after retirement. Right now the mission is all that matters. Carolina is no doubt going to be doing her best in her training, so I need to do my best as well to gather the hope of the people on Earth_.

* * *

 **A/N: Not as long of a chapter this time around as far as word count goes. But I hope it was an enjoyable chapter as it does outline some important changes to character, and sets up a few things that will play out later onwards to their conclusion.**

 **What do you think can be improved on? Constructive feedback is always welcomed! :)**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read, I appreciate the readership and support!**

 **~ Monty**


	13. Fighting Spirit

**Chapter 12: Fighting Spirit**

The floor of the UNSC ship shook with the heavy footsteps of marching soldiers. The reds and the blues walked towards a large gathering hall where they were being summoned by Washington. Simmons and Grif led their group composed of Matthews, Bitters, Donut and Sarge. Simmons looked at the large line to their left and saw the soldiers marching in a disciplined manner. "I wonder what Wash wants us there for."

"Maybe it's to give the whole army a motivational speech," Matthews suggested with the wide motion of his arms. "I have noticed a distinct lack of motivation amongst some of the troops."

"Well I hope it is for an all you can eat lunch party surprise," Bitters replied rubbing his belly as it hungered for more food. His controlled portions no longer did it for him. Donut suddenly burst out into a Mexican dance saying. "Or maybe, it is for a feisty session of Mexican dancing, preferably with tacos on the side."

"Mmm tacos…," Bitters' mouth already watered.

"Can it numb nuts," Sarge grunted pointing to the entrance of the hall. "Just wait and see when we get there."

Tucker observed the growing numbers from the left side of the hall to the right. He looked back to the ex-Freelancer and asked. "So what was so important that you had to disturb my…um 'alone time'?"

"Yeah, I was going to eat some glorious chocolate cake with Iowa!" Caboose complained folding his arms together. Idaho snickered with a huge grin underneath his helmet. "The cake is a lie!"

Terrill and Darryl dropped by with Ohio and Sherry following closely. They took their place by Iowa's side and waited for the speech to begin. Washington looked at the monitors displaying the reds and blues from the other ships, and the camera in front of him to show others his picture. _It looks like everyone is here but one man_. Just as Washington was about to request Tucker to go hunt him down, he showed up with a plate of sausages. "Guten tag my Blood Gulch hoomies. I bring myself some delicious sausages of ultimate delight."

"And heart attacks," added one of the blues. Muffins took a bite out of the sausage and flexed his face in extreme pleasure. "Mmm, nom, nom, om!"

"Mmm…sausages," spoke Iowa and Caboose in unison. Tucker and Idaho, in unison stood in their way and said. "Stop it."

Both Grif and Bitters however managed to use their stealth mode to swipe a few sausages off of them. Grif gave a few to Caboose and Iowa and ate the rest all on his own. Washington shook his head at the antics and clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone listen up. The reason I gathered you all here is for matters of grave importance. You may have known that recently we didn't have a time limit of any sort. But recently I was informed that our enemy has given us a time limit of one month. So be ready by then."

"What would we need to do to be ready?" asked one of the reds. Washington looked in their general direction and answered. "Train, and get lots of exercise both for your body and your aim as a soldier. The training duties will be passed onto one of Muffins' men. He is a very capable soldier. The recruitment duties will remain with me. The training schedule will also change so that you have more opportunities to train. The recruitment will be fast tracked to help grow the army as soon as possible."

"Aren't you being a little too hasty?" inquired Sarge. "Speeding up recruitment, gathering so many numbers and expecting to train them all sounds a little too much in the span of one month."

"Considering our circumstances, we don't have much of a choice," argued Wash. "With our current numbers, we are close to meeting the numbers that Cradle of Hope in total possesses. But this will be nowhere near enough to ensure our victory when taking other factors into account such as combat skills and experience."

Washington looked towards Muffins who moped in one of the corners, doing his best to wipe those manly German tears! Washington cleared his throat gathering Muffins' attention. "I'm hoping we can still count on you for your support in our entry to Earth space."

"Ja, don't worry about it. I will talk to my people and they will get it sorted faster than you can shoot that mayonnaise you hunk of a man."

Washington almost threw up in his helmet again recalling a similar event taking place before in their adventures against the New Order. "Thanks…I will count on you to ensure safe entry into the UNSC controlled space around Earth then."

Washington looked back to the camera and the rest of the crowd. "Remember to give it your best in training, and be ready to kick some serious ass once we get to Earth. Ready yourselves for it will be a war. You are all dismissed now."

* * *

A double layered chocolate cake sat on a circular table surrounded by the greedy gazes of Caboose, Iowa, Idaho, Terrill and Darryl. Caboose lifted a knife to commence the cutting ritual. Where as one may think something as simple as cutting a cake may not be something ritual worthy, but they would be surprised at what could happen when the knife reaches Caboose's hands. Everyone but Iowa at the table shuffled a little in the opposite directions from Caboose for their own safety. Caboose raised his hand up in the air and the sound of thunder crackled. Everyone looked at Iowa holding up a portable speaker hooked up to his phone. "What? Oh, sorry. I was just trying to set the mood right."

Caboose swung the knife down. Everyone but the two simple headed soldiers thought, _too fast!_ The knife cut through every little bit of the cake and reached the table. _It has to stop right?_ They all wondered. But for some bizarre reason, the knife managed to make a crack from one end of the table to another extended from where the knife was wedged in. Everyone looked up at Caboose with eyes shot wide open and mouths opened in surprise. Idaho leaned close to study just how hard the knife was wedged in. It was in there pretty tight. "Dude, what type of workout routine do you have?"

"Um, eat your green vegetables!" Caboose exclaimed embarrassed at the display of his uncontrollable strength. Iowa wedged it free with his equally if not scarier strength and gently cut the cake into several little pieces. He handed the first piece to his slobbering blue friend who hungered for the feast. Caboose took a handful and stuck it in between from the helmet and his chin. The others broke out into laughter. "You know, it would be better if you take your helmet off."

"It's okay, I have had practice eating like this," Caboose took more and stuffed it in the small crevice. From his muffled voice, all they could make out was a confident response. "See?"

Everyone else clapped and quickly went into beast mode. All of them hungered for the sugary rush, the creamy sweetness, and the beautiful texture rub up against their tongue. They all moaned in the comfort that only a chocolate cake could ever provide. Terrill bit down on the last piece of his slice already and reached for seconds. "So guys, I was thinking that when all of this is said and done, I would open up a bar."

Darryl nearly choked on his slice looking wide eyed at his best friend. "Since when did you want to do this?"

"Since the day I found my passion of mixing drinks and working with booze," Terrill answered. "I got pretty good at it to with all the time we spent drinking on that ice ball of a planet."

"That is true," Idaho added. "But then again, I don't exactly have someone to compare you up against."

"Then, would there happen to be any room for a co-founder?" Darryl inquired leaning closer. Terrill got the clues as to what Darryl was hoping to hear. Happily he obliged his friend with the truth. "Well I do see one seat open right now."

The two quickly sealed the deal with a handshake. Darryl excitedly began to think about all the possibilities for their bar and said. "Then once this is over, let's sit down to talk about it in detail."

"You got it man," Terrill responded stuffing down another piece. Idaho wiped his fingers clean and hummed. "It's nice to have a dream isn't it? I wonder what I can do."

"What are you good at?" Caboose proposed. Idaho shook his shoulders after thinking for a few minutes. "Honestly, I don't know."

Iowa then said. "You are great at being a good best friend."

"I guess," said the ex-freelancer as he then made up his mind. "I will just stay in the military with Iowa."

"Actually," Iowa finished swallowing a bite. "I want to move into the research and exploration division of the army."

"This is the first time I'm hearing of this," Idaho retorted in surprise as with the rest. Caboose however did not find it too surprising. "He said he always wanted to be an explorer, so he should be an explorer!"

"Oh, cool beans," Idaho noted cleaning his mouth with some water. "I guess I will still tag along. After all, we are like the yin yang to one another bro."

"Or the grill to the pancakes!" said Caboose with his stomach now hungering for pancakes. Terrill then raised his empty water glass and noted. "Or maybe like the glass to the booze!"

"Heh, heh, yeah," Darryl faced the individual opposite to him. "Speaking of which, Caboose."

"Hello!"

"What do you want to do after the fight is over?"

"Hmm, I think I will just stay with my friends. Every day is fun with them, so I don't want to change it. Plus, friends stay with one another!" Caboose mentioned in a proud voice displaying his knowledge and mastery of friendship.

* * *

Two women sat face to face surrounded by soothing candles. Each candle lit a flame of different color variation. Sherry gathered a healthy serving of rice on her spoon and inched it closer to Ohio. The ex-freelancer opened her mouth and slowly felt the spoon enter. Their eyes locked and feelings exchanged in complete silence. Ohio slowly retreated with a mouthful of rice and gently chewed it down. She lifted up a small bite of her chicken nuggets and sensually pushed it inside Sherry's mouth until all that there was a kiss on her finger. The two women blushed at the intensity and looked away as their faces became redder. Sherry then cleared her throat drinking down the remains with her cup of water. "So, what do you want to do once the fight is over?"

Ohio stopped eating her own food to look up in deep contemplation, but at the same time surprise. "I don't really know, I hadn't thought about it. How about you?"

Sherry giggled thinking upon their similarities. _It really shocks me sometimes just how similar our thoughts are at times_. "I honestly don't know yet either."

"Hmm, then how about for starters," Ohio moved her finger in a circular fashion. "We go on a relaxing vacation all the way around Earth, just the two of us."

"I can get behind that idea. How about somewhere tropical? The beach, ocean and the sun would be nice."

Ohio smirked with a quick retort. "Perv, you just want to see me in my bikini."

"But you will get to see me in one to," Sherry quickly defended when the two had a sudden realization. _We would get to see one another in a bikini_. Their faces again became red and the two averted their eyes from one another, but stealthily reached for each other's hands. As the two women came into contact, they both laughed at how similar their minds worked. Ohio pinched Sherry's nose with a happy cloud nine grin and said. "That would be quite the sight. Honestly, just imagining it kind of gets the juices flowing if you catch my drift."

"Slow down there turbo," Sherry held up her hands as if to defend herself against a wild sexual animal. "Let's save those juices for our later 'activities'."

Ohio rested her head on her elbows and with half open eyes she spoke in a completely relaxed voice. "You know, you are being really cute right now, and that cuteness makes you seem sexier than usual."

"What can I say? I may just take every chance I can get to take you, my little puma to bed before the war."

Ohio's cloud nine sense of happiness quickly disappeared. Upon hearing the word 'war', concern came and invaded her once relaxed face. Sherry quickly picked up on the disturbance and reached out for her partner's hand with reassurance that she is here for her. Ohio only viewed this as an even greater concerning gesture. Sherry's tight grip further encouraged this view. "What is it that you are not telling me Sherry?"

The ex-Charon soldier looked away in contempt of her own weakness. _I can never control these impulsive actions around her. I always end up making her worry_. She clenched her hand around the table's edge doing her best to control her emotions. Worry and fear were un-shrouded in her eyes. Ohio rested her other hand atop Sherry's cheek and gently caressed it. "Talk to me Sherry. I know there is something bothering you. I can't be of any help if you don't tell me yourself."

"Ohio…," Sherry looked down and shook her head. She bit her lower lip and gazed up at her partner in complete fear. "I- I'm afraid. I'm afraid that one of us may die. I'm afraid to leave you or be left all alone."

"You won't be all alone," Ohio explained referring to the guys. "As far as one of us biting the dust goes, that won't happen. For if one is to die, and the other is left alone, there will be great sadness and regret for both of us. We both know that, so I also know that we won't let that happen, period."

Ohio reached over the table and rested her forehead against Sherry's making some invisible mental connection. "We will always be together, both in life and death."

Sherry jolted back a moment, surprised at Ohio's choice of words and at the same time flattered. "That sounds kind of like a cheesy marriage proposal."

"It might be."

Silence became evident, and soon it became an awkward silence. _What? Oh my god, what do I do now?_ Both the ladies wondered. Ohio moved from her seat to face Sherry. _This is going to be so cheesy as hell_ , Ohio thought as she positioned herself just right. She got down on one knee finally making Sherry realize just how serious she was. She nearly burst out into giggles and tears at the same time. "Sherry, I'm glad that I got to meet you as enemies first, because if we hadn't, I may have never come this far with you. I know I don't have much in the way of possessions, or even money. I can only give you my emotional and physical support. But I promise to be there for you both in life and death, so will you marry me?"

Sherry's tears finally trailed down her cheeks with the happiest smile she has ever worn in life. "And here I thought I would be the one to do the proposal."

Sherry bent down and hugged Ohio in excitement at taking another step in her life. "Yes, I will happily marry you!"

Both the women sit on the floor breaking out into a loud and innocent laughter. As their energy slowly died down, they looked into one another's eyes finally understanding the connection of all these years. It wasn't just love, but absolute support and the need for one another's presence in their lives. They shuffled closer until their lips locked. With that their deal was sealed. When the two women broke off for air, Sherry laughed at an amusing thought. "Imagine the look on Idaho's face when he finds out that we are marrying one another."

Ohio partook in the laughter as well. "Yeah, it will be quite the sight. But you know, he is a good guy and he will definitely support both of us in this decision."

"Yeah, so will Terrill, Darryl and Iowa. All of them are definitely on the list for our marriage event."

"Slow down babe," Ohio gently flicked Sherry's forehead playfully. "We haven't even won the war yet."

"I like to be prepared."

"True," Ohio pointed to the somewhat visible purple object under Sherry's bed. Sherry quickly blushed and leaned closer. Her voice became extremely seductive both from the object and the recent proposal. "Actually that is meant for both of us to use at the same time if you catch my drift."

Ohio smirked and that grew into a wider and more sensual smile. "Oh, I get your drift alright. I can't wait to put it to good use later."

Ohio helped Sherry up as the two sat hand in hand in their respective seats. Ohio thought of a few names to add to the event list just as they got settled in. "You know, I may want to invite Washington and the guys form Blood Gulch to. We do owe them quite a bit of debt for rescuing us from that ice planet after all."

"That's true, plus, the event wouldn't be as much fun without Caboose there."

"And he would make great company for Iowa," Ohio smiled noting just how close those two have gotten over this journey. Sherry quickly went silent, and so did Ohio as the two stared into one another's eyes with an aloof smile. Sherry realized just how long it has been since their initial meeting. A sense of nostalgia hit her to the brim and overflowed her with happiness. "You know, I'm real glad that I got to meet you Ohio."

"As am I."

The two rested their heads together and shared a deep passionate kiss. Their love felt renewed every time their passion was exchanged through their physical touch. The two held out great hope for the future, a future in which they walk on a sandy beach together side by side tied in matrimony.

* * *

Tucker and Palomo stood in one of the many open spots within the observatory. The two looked out in silence, a silence which was beginning to get to Palomo. "So…I can't wait to get back home and see my kid."

"The baby won't be born by that time dude," Tucker replied earning a nod of confirmation from Palomo. "Yeah, but I will be back just in time before the birth takes place."

Palomo shuffled in his spot holding back the energy that so clearly wanted to be visibly seen. He shook his arms and positioned them in a cradle position. "I can't wait to hold them in my arms. To be honest, I am a little anxious at the prospect of becoming a father. But at the same time I'm looking forward to the adventures this will bring to both Jenson and I."

Tucker smirked under the helmet recalling when he gave birth to Junior. "Just be sure to be super nice to Jenson when she is in labor, because she will be guaranteed to scream curses involving castration for putting that bun in the oven."

"What would make you think that?"

"Trust me Palomo, I have experience with giving birth."

"Wait, how does that even work?"

"I don't know, go ask Doc," Tucker shook his shoulders pointing to his butt. "All I did was push, push and push for hours until Junior popped out the hole here."

"Huh," Palomo was astonished to hear the process in greater detail than he would have liked. "Getting knocked up by an alien must have been quite the experience then."

"It wasn't fun," Tucker replied immediately to not give any wrong ideas. "Especially not when Caboose had chosen to stay by my side constantly asking if I needed a pillow, warm milk or worst of all a hug as I was giving freaking birth! I had to shower almost five times a day for a whole week after that just to wash off the Caboose from me."

"But was giving birth to and raising Junior worth it?"

Tucker looked at Palomo almost irritated at the question. "Of course, I wouldn't trade that time for anything else. Junior maybe an alien, but he is a chill alien and a great kid."

Palomo smirked noting just how proud Tucker's voice was at speaking about Junior. Tucker nodded his head in complete honesty of the fact. "Giving birth will be painful for Jenson, totally painful. But after that, it will be like the most magical feeling ever of seeing your kid. Well that is until reality sets in, where you have to pay your taxes, bills, cleaning up the baby poop, vomit and other stuff."

"So Tucker, how come you never got married?"

Tucker looked at Palomo with a raised eye brow at the sudden interest. "Well I was quite 'popular' in high school. When I joined the army, there were hardly any chicks who would take an interest in me. I mean me, the most badass soldier on this side of the galaxy. I even called dibs on the tank, I mean chicks love tanks."

"Right…"

"There were so few like Sister, I tried hitting on her offering to take her for a ride in my tank, but that didn't work because of a certain over protective brother who would constantly spy on me through her, even during alone time where I relieved some…stress. Then there was Tex, but that quickly stopped after she broke one of my arms and legs, stole my wallet and went on a shopping spree. Joke's on her because I didn't have any money in there!" Tucker laughed boldly. "I also tried hitting on Carolina, but while she was more tolerant, she did eventually set some ground rules like if I ever flirt with her, look her way with perverted looks or even have a perverted thought in her presence, she would make a smiley emote with bullets all over my manly face."

Palomo stood quite speechless. Tucker breathed out a heavy sigh and noted. "Yup, it's been one hell of a run with women. Too bad Kimball wasn't into me all that much since she threatened to throw me down below into a radiated lake that one time I tried hitting on her. Personally I stopped since I like to keep my bits and pieces as they are. So yeah, I don't really bother flirting anymore."

"Huh, wow…that sucks," Palomo answered quickly changing gears and perking up his mood. "But I can't wait to get back to my loving wife."

Tucker remained silent at the lack of subtlety shown by Palomo just as he told him about his terrible luck with women. _How is it that Palomo can take a good moment and ruin it in a matter of seconds?_ He lowered his head and started walking away.

"Where are you going Tucker?"

"Eat a dick!" Tucker replied turning a corner with one last remark to himself. "I fucking hate you Palomo."

* * *

Dallas knocked on the wall beside the door frame and gathered Aria's attention. He entered with his arms behind his back and posture straightened like one befitting of a General. "More troops have flown in from the space colonies."

"Good, thank you for the update," Aria went back to her paper work but quickly realized that he still stood in the exact same spot. She eyed him from the top of her eyes and rested her hands together on the table. "Is there something that you need?"

"I wanted to ask if you are content with waging this war," Dallas moved closer looking deeply into her eyes, their gazes locked into a long drawn out stare. "I can tell that you are hesitant to fight."

"I'm not hesitant," her reply was instantaneous, and annoyed hoping to correct his misunderstanding. "My parents made sure of that. But I'm hesitant to take lives that can so easily be spared should the country decide to simply surrender. I don't like the idea of waging war and killing many when the most ideal solution would be for the enemy to surrender."

"Every battle has casualties."

"I know that better than anyone," Aria retorted further annoyed by his tone. "In fact I taught you this. But just because you have knowledge surrounding conflicts, it should not mean that you can revel in the violence."

"Then are you hesitant because of your brother?" Dallas Inquired taking a few steps back from Aria. He could feel the brewing storm of emotion in Aria which was thankfully under control for now. Aria glared the bearded general in the eyes, almost with bloodshot rage at the mention of her brother. "Do not talk about that, ever again. I have already declared him an enemy. There is nothing else to talk about on this matter. If you do not have any other questions, then leave."

Dallas nodded his head no longer wanting to push her buttons for now and left. Aria called in her next appointment, a group of soldiers and explained their orders. "Move the planes carrying the nuclear bombs to safe and remote locations where it can't be tracked so easily. Also, get our underground bases in the sewer system ready. I don't plan on staying here as it will be far too risky to do so. Call in for favors with the city council if you need to, but get it done."

"Yes ma'am!" saluted the soldiers as they all left one by one. The generals entered just as the final soldier left and Aria looked at yet another task to deal with. "Why are all of you here?"

Dallas looked around motioning for either of them to say it. But not one seemed to have the type of interest like he did, and so the bearded General said it himself. "We were hoping to know about our roles in the war."

"You are too early to be asking that," Aria responded crossing her arms. "But if you must know, you will act as leaders to the soldiers in your respective divisions. You all will also act as body guards for me protecting me as I work from the underground sewer base."

The generals silently accepted her orders as their absolute faith, not necessarily because they feared her, but because they believed in her. The generals all saluted and quickly left Aria to her own devices, to plan the very method and tactics that will define one of the greatest turning points in human history.

* * *

Men in blue and lightly armored uniforms stood in an organized crowd. In front of them was a small stage with a podium in the center. The cops of this city, brave men ready to get up every morning and face the dangers their jobs entailed now stood asking questions as to why they had been gathered here. A man older than most, dressed in a uniform of medals, and more extravagant piece of clothing compared to most officers stepped out holding his cap to his side. He walked to the center podium and gently placed the cap beside the prepared papers, his speech to sing to the masses. "Thank you for gathering here gentlemen. I asked for this internal meeting to take place because I felt that you all deserve to be kept in the loop with what is happening regarding the terrorists."

A few murmurs arose, but quickly dulled as he raised his hand demanding attention. "There has been quite a bit of discussion about this with the higher ups and the government. We have all reached a consensus that we will not concern ourselves or act on any concerns raised by the people of the city on this matter. The government is doing all they can to open negotiation channels with the terrorists hoping to resolve this peacefully. They don't want any violence breaking out that could jeopardize their chances of peace talks."

The officers nearly broke out into a loud protest as one spoke the loudest. "Then how are we supposed to protect people against the threat of their harmful ideologies?!"

"You are to do nothing. The protests are harmless."

The officer who once spoke with Alex before shook his head and noted. "With all due respect sir, that is not what I saw. One protestor at one of their rallies was ready to beat a woman senseless because she disagreed with what he said. I don't see that as harmless, at least not in my book."

The other cops nodded their head in agreement. "Yeah, we are the protectors of the law and the people. We should be out there!"

"Silence!" the commissioner screamed silencing the whole room. "If anyone is found acting against this order, they will be stripped of their rank, put on suspension and their future will become very uncertain on the force!"

"This is insane," many stated with a laughable tone. "We are the police of this city, and we are just supposed to bend over to the will of these terrorists?! This is exactly what they want us to do so they can maintain their presence and freely carry out their plans."

"Yeah," another cop spoke up pointing at the commissioner. "Suppressing us from doing our duties with threats like these is a violation of our workplace rights!"

The commissioner slammed his fist against the podium, and the echo silenced all at the sudden display of power and anger. "These are not my orders. They are coming directly for the government."

No one dare spoke out while the commissioner still seemed so very angry. But they all knew that this was still unfair. They knew that they all deserved to be out on the streets and fight to keep the people safe. The commissioner took in a deep breath and calmed down. "There will be no more discussion on these orders. Anyone found in breach of these orders can look forward to a long legal process headed their way."

* * *

Washington stared at the circular loading icon on two separate windows, one for his own video and another for someone else. The light on his webcam blinked and became a solid red soon enough. He looked at himself in the picture and adjusted to a better position. The other window finally finished loading, and the orange haired woman sat with a worn out smile and a face telling of much fatigue in her whole body. Washington smiled underneath the helmet and waved to her. "There she is, looking good."

"Heh, thanks," Carolina brushed her hair back to keep it from annoying her. "Thanks for coming on to talk like this Wash, I appreciate it. I already talked with the others, but I also wanted to talk to you seeing as how we will both be very busy now."

"Yeah," Washington nodded his head and studied her face with intense interest. "You look great by the way compared to the last time I saw you in that unfortunate aftermath."

Carolina lowered her head in embarrassment and admitted. "That was not one of my finer moments."

"Well, we are all only human, right?" Washington laughed with Carolina following suite. But he quickly changed topics and went onto the matter of business at hand. "Don't worry Carolina, no matter what happens, we will have that army ready and be there in no time."

"I know, I believe in you Wash. Whenever you have made a promise to me, you have always kept it. And I promise to do my best in training."

"Go be a badass again," Washington smirked underneath the helmet as did Carolina. She nodded her head in affirmation and felt even more encouraged knowing her friends still believed in her abilities and determination. Washington however leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms with a chuckle. "But be sure to leave some action for us when we get to Earth."

"Heh, no guarantees," Carolina answered with her voice slowly growing somber. Washington raised an eyebrow at this as he noticed her once good posture loosen up into that of a defeated person. She took in a deep breath and breathed out a sigh. "Wash, I have been thinking recently. Perhaps after this is over, and after the war is done with, my fighting days maybe over."

"Is it because of your trigger finger?"

"Well that is what started this whole thought spiral," Carolina explained. "But I have also realized just how much my body has reached its limits after being so bashed and battered throughout my life as a fighter. Everyone's body at some point in our lives tells us enough is enough, no more. Maybe my body is telling me that I have reached my physical limit."

"I gotta say, I'm quite surprised to hear you say all these things. I mean you are Agent Carolina, the best of the best."

"Maybe my time in torture has changed me and how I think about things now. But one thing is abundantly clear to me now, unclouded. I just want out, I want peace."

"To be honest, I have been having similar thoughts," Washington admitted studying the visible surprise on her face. Carolina scratched her hair and asked. "Why would you be thinking about this?"

"Well this whole military thing is starting to become hard on both my mind and body. When I was younger, things were simpler and there was only black and white. I was given orders to fight someone, and I would do it without questions. Now that I'm older, hopefully wiser and how things have become so much more complex, I find myself questioning so many things in this grey universe."

Washington looked at the small bobble head to his side and flicked it into a hypnotic rhythm. "Sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it to continue fighting even though in the end it never gives me any sense of accomplishment now days, or even happiness in the long run. It's the quieter moments with the others that seem to do those things."

Carolina smiled in a warm and caring gesture upon a similar realization as his. "It looks like we are on the same wavelength of thinking. You know what, if one of us doesn't kick the bucket first in this conflict, we should go out together. There is this great movie theater that I know about, it will be great, just us two ex-freelancers getting our long deserved break."

"Just the two of us?"

"Yup," Carolina stretched her arms and jerked a little at the small pain in her back. Washington nodded his head saying. "That sounds like a good time. You know, I have also had this desire lately of retiring somewhere tropical."

"I don't think retirement would really suit us."

"Why?"

"Well I'm quite certain that we would get bored of it really fast," she grinned just imagining the two of them sitting in a rocking chair, doing whatever retired individuals did, and all of a sudden Washington would kick his legs up in frustration citing how retirement was a bad idea. Washington to had a similar thought and agreed. "I guess you are right now that I think about it."

"It would be interesting to run a beach lodge though."

"Then let's make a deal," Washington found the idea interesting and was determined to hear more about it, with a few conditions set out. "If we survive the fight, we will both sit down and have a long hard thinking session to figure out our future."

Carolina crossed her arms behind her head looking up at the ceiling. She thought long and hard about the many futures that could be theirs. "Deal. A life beyond the armor would be a brand new chapter in my life which I will happily embrace."

"As will I," he replied checking the time. "Looks like my break is up, I have to get back to my duties now. Good luck to us all Carolina."

"Yes, good luck to us all."

The screens went black. Wash leaned back and smiled at this euphoria feeling. _That was an interesting talk_. He got up and stretched his body. _A life beyond the armor, this maybe the most excited I have ever been in quite a while_. He switched off the lights in his room and exited to tend to the tasks requiring his attention.

* * *

The young assassin inched closer to his destination, and his heart beat hastened with anxiety. _What do I say to her?_ He wondered pushing his hands into his pockets. He stopped upon being met by the lifeless stare of the metal door. Church appeared just as he was about to knock on Carolina's door and held up a hand to stop him. "So why are you here?"

Church's voice was cold, unwelcoming and filled with malice. Alex looked down at the ground and motioned towards the main room of the base. "Siris told me that Carolina wanted to talk to me."

"Fine," Church slid out of the way and motioned for him to enter. "But don't you try and pull any other crap with her."

"Church, I never did. In fact, I never meant to."

"And is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened. I feel guilty that something like that even happened. I couldn't stop my sister from hurting her, and I'm sorry for that to. I have a lot of regrets built up in life and I want to try and do better, to atone."

Church sighed letting his shoulders fall. He knew that what Alex spoke of contained the truth. He knew it all too well thanks to his superior programming, but even then as an AI he could not let go of the emotional binds. His anger outweighed his understanding at the moment. "I get why you did what you did, but I can't forgive you right now."

Church disappeared much to Alex's frustration. He had hoped to resolve this issue with Church right now. Alex moved to knock on the door and enter her room slowly and carefully so as not to alert her. She looked at his healthy form and motioned towards the bed. "Take a seat."

"Thanks," Alex felt the comfortable softness of the bed to be soothing. Carolina offered a friendly smile as she spoke. "I know what you are thinking Alex. What happened is not your fault, at least not completely. I'm sorry for following you against your will."

"I'm sorry for getting you caught," Alex explained. "Had it not been for that explosive entry of mine, you would have probably never been caught."

"Yeah, well I'm sorry for showing you that ugly side of myself after the torture."

"That was not ugly," Alex noted as he rested his hands on his knees. "It was beautiful at how strong you are, fighting to keep the silence when most others probably would have cracked by then. I'm sorry for not being able to protect you from my sister even though I had direct access to her as well as spoken with her."

"I'm sorry for unintentionally making you everyone's target of their anger."

"I'm sorry for the pain your condition may have caused you and to those around you."

Carolina stomped her foot and nearly puffed her cheeks. "Damn it, let me have the last sorry!"

The two stared at one another rather surprised and quickly broke out into a hearty laughter. Alex wiped the small tear from all the laughing and asked. "Are you really ready to train again?"

"Not you to," Carolina shifted in her seat, straightened her posture and hardened her gaze towards him. "I am ready. While my aim is not as good with my left hand, I can still fight. My hand to hand skills while a little restricted, I'm not disabled."

"When the fighting breaks out, you had better stick with someone you trust the most," Alex advised earning a nod and words of agreement from the now visible Church. Alex looked from the holographic display to the orange haired woman. He leaned closer with his hands gripped together. "Do you hate my sister for what she had done?"

Carolina looked warily at him and understood how she answers this question will no doubt affect their future partnerships. But she also understood the value of honesty. "It would be hard not to after everything that happened. But if my life experiences have taught me anything, it's that hate never leads to anything good. I hate her, but that doesn't mean I will act on that hatred to take her life with such twisted intentions. I will fight not for hatred, but to instead protect those I care for the most."

Alex smiled happy to see this determination and asked. "Would you be willing to accompany me in defeating Aria?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes," he motioned towards his gauntlet that displayed a transparent map. "She hasn't caught wind of the trace I put on her before. I can track her position daily with this tracker on her armor."

"Then," Carolina smirked and stretched her body. "It will be my pleasure."

* * *

 **A/N: Strap in tight folks for the war is about to begin. I hope you are all looking forward to the final conflict and the conclusion to this trilogy.**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed! :)**

 **Thank you for your readership as well as support, I appreciate it.**

 **~ Monty**


	14. War Bells Ring

**Chapter 13: War Bells Ring**

Tick, tock, tick, tock, the time was one minute before midnight. Aria waited patiently for the day to end and with it the time limit she bestowed upon the nation. Every attempt the government tried to initiate peace talks had been shut down. There was only either their way or war. It seems that they truly had failed to grasp the severity of the situation. Aria sat surrounded by several white lights creating a nice contrast of shadows and brightness. She looked to her right at the computer screens that fed her constant updates about her troops and their positions via their transmitters attached to their armor.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Aria eyed the watch with a sigh. _It looks like they have made their choice_. She motioned for her subordinates to prepare the live video transmission for her soldiers. With a strong posture, a straight back and a confident walk, she took her place by the podium on a makeshift stage. The cameras rolled and she gripped the sides of the podium. The light on the camera activated and it began transmitting. She took in a deep breath, and relaxed. "I speak now directly to you, my fellow soldiers, and loyal Cradle of Hope members. The time has come. We gave this nation a chance to surrender and do things without risking their own citizens, but it seems that they are unwilling to surrender their power to us. The bells of war have been ringing louder than ever before in recent times and tonight it rings the loudest."

Cradle of Hope soldiers all spread out across the nation of USA watch in anticipation. Aria pointed towards the camera as her voice went grim. "Now we must wage war and unfortunately risk not only our lives, but the lives of the people of this nation. I personally would have liked to avoid the conflict, but if they want a fight, then we will give them one that they will remember for generations to come."

Aria closed her eyes for a moment and looked down at the podium. She raised her head and spoke in a more neutral voice. "Remember, you are all going to be a part of something grand, something we have all been working towards ever since the conception of this organization. Our names will go down in history as revolutionaries that changed this world for the better. We will be criticized, and shunned. But no revolutionary is without their fair share of critics or haters."

The pilots handling the plane carriers containing the nuclear bombs prepared for takeoff. The lights on the takeoff pad turned from a blinking orange to a solid green giving them the go. They slowly tilted the joy stick backwards as they increased speed to the thrusters. The Pelicans lifted off into the air. The soldiers on ground gave a salute to wish them the best and prepared to join the others. The planes stabilized themselves and the pilots wished one another luck. They all broke off into the direction of their assigned regions and countries.

"We are in this till the end. We have come too far to be deterred so easily now. We have our trump card up our sleeves, so know that we will fight to our last breathe and succeed!" Aria lifted her arm in solidarity as did the rest. "Now go out there and make this world realize just what a mistake it was to cross paths with us!"

The generals walked through the huge crowd of soldiers and handpicked a select few to join their squads. Dallas coordinated the operation as he told the others to hurry. He studied the results of their efforts and motioned for them all to move out to their respective positions. Aria stepped away from the podium and hinted for one of her soldiers to come closer. "Tell our informants to play the R-001 pre-recorded message we sent to them two days ago for the masses."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

"This just in folks," the newscaster announced gathering the attention of everyone near a TV screen. Many stopped in their tracks to notice the breaking alert red bar below the news caster quickly wide eyed. "We have a message from the terrorist organization Cradle of Hope, the same people responsible for the countless bombings and deaths in the wake of their activities. We will now play the message in its entirety."

"This is a message to the people of Earth. My name is Aria. I'm the leader of Cradle of Hope. You are hearing this message right now because our offer for a peaceful solution to help change the world was rejected. We offered a chance at redemption for the human race from its vices, and instead of seizing the opportunity, the American government chose to waste time with meaningless peace talks. There were only two ways, our way which would have entailed far less risk for the world, or war. The government chose not to bend over, but due to the American people's actions in the past and the level of demilitarization, they have left themselves open to easy attacks as proven by us on several occasions."

The citizens began to get concerned at the grim tone of this message as well as the regret induced words used by her. "Now that we are at this point, you will all witness a grand revolution take place to put humanity on the path where it may finally be free of its vices. We will march the streets, take them by force and as long as no one interferes, your safety will be guaranteed. This is to the government, it's affiliated organizations and the militaries around the world. If you think to interfere, I would urge you to reconsider. In the air right now are eight Pelicans carrying nuclear bombs. If you choose to resist us through force, we will not hesitate to activate the bombs one by one over densely populated areas. All we ask is for your cooperation in surrender."

The various government councils around the world slammed their fists against their tables and cursed in fury. They cursed their fate as their hands were tied behind their backs. Especially the American government that understood how no matter what they would do, they still lose. If they do something to combat Cradle of Hope, they risk the bombs exploding and risking the safety of other nations. But the long term consequences would entail the destabilization of the world's political balance as well as trust in the United States of America. But if they do nothing, then they could be seen as aiding the terrorists. No matter what they did, they would lose. They have not just one, but both hands tied behind their backs.

"Humans have struggled with their primal sins for far too long. It is time for us to walk a proper path, it is time for us to evolve," Aria pointed at the screen and towards the audience. "And that begins when all of you give up the political as well as military power to us. There is nothing else you can do to save yourselves but surrender. The UNSC will not help you due to the many treaties and agreements signed by the various nations that keep their military strength out of Earth."

The UNSC officers just outside of Earth watched in anxiety. Many gripped their hands together praying for the safety of their friends and family. They all felt distraught, for all the power their military training gave them, it was useless in their most vital moment. Aria crossed her arms and nodded her head. "We were kind enough to give America a time limit. But it seems that democracy, and freedom is far more important to the Americans. This is the consequence of that choice. Know this, once we are done with the takeover of America, we will be coming after the other nations. We will not be stopped, we are determined and we will reform the human race."

* * *

As the screen went black, panic broke out onto the streets. The citizens all scattered nearly bumping into one another. Their screams filled the ears of others with terror. They all pushed past one another like wild animals trying to get to safety, even trampling a few along the way. Siris watched the madness caused by the message and whispered. "This is insane."

 _Is this how you imagined your revolution beginning sister?_ Alex pondered as he noticed Siris approaching their own small army. He crossed his arms and nodded his head. "So, this is going to be an uphill battle. We have a few troops in other states, but nothing like what they have. It seems that the plan to rely on the reds and the blues hasn't panned out as we had hoped."

"They will be here," Carolina defended her friends and family firmly planting her foot on the ground. Siris knew better than to argue this point. "But right now we have to do what we can with the numbers we have. I want everyone to break up into squads coordinated by a squad leader who will always report to me. Remember to be well hidden so that it's easier to get the jump on them. The element of surprise is our greatest weapon right now."

"Yes sir!"

They all broke off with only Alex, Chloe and Carolina remaining behind. The young assassin approached Siris and spoke with reassurance. "We will hunt down Aria."

"Are you sure?"

"I declared her an enemy the night I escaped from her captivity," Alex spoke firm in his belief. "There is no going back, only forward."

Siris patted Alex's back in understanding and a hint of proud feelings. "Don't hesitate to rely on us if things go south."

Alex departed with the two women. Siris opened the back of the ATSG van and started up the computer. He noticed the live feedback from the ATSG soldiers and guided a few squads he felt were poorly hidden. As the ATSG troops ran through the streets in the shadows, they noticed almost every window shutter to be closed and most likely locked. The citizens no doubt hid with the hopes that this was all a bad dream, and that it will go away if they closed their shutters.

The ATSG soldiers ran up into various buildings and took their positions. Each squad consisted of at least one sniper, heavy weapons and light weapons user. The snipers took the job of the recon to keep the rest of the squads informed. The streets were almost as empty as a ghost town. Silence awaited them for now until their enemies no doubt neared. But this silence was quickly broken by a sharp, loud and piercing noise of the city wide alarms. _This really is war_ , thought many as they heard the war emergency alarms. No one in this nation thought they would ever hear such alarms in their lifetime. Emergency protocols enacted throughout the city, barricades arose to block off the roads. The bridges raised in the air to disconnect one part of the city from another. The traffic lights shut off. The power to the cities is slowly, grid by grid cut off to create complete darkness, only mildly suppressed by the moonlight. The citizens inside their homes and other buildings looked outside with curiosity, but as they saw just how abandoned their city looked on the roads, fear settled in real quick. Many took to praying for their survival. Survival may spell victory for them after all.

* * *

"Ma'am, we have a problem," one of Aria's many soldiers stated as they stopped just a few inches from her desk. They caught their breath and displayed multiple images of the city from a street level. "It seems that they have activated the emergency status throughout the nation."

"That is of no concern to me," Aria leaned forward exerting a dominant force over him. "Instead, continue to focus on moving forward with the plans."

Dallas motioned for the children to finish stacking the goods of ammo, guns, explosives and extra armor. He quickly requested a report from the other generals and conveyed the information to Aria. "We are all in position now."

"Yeah," Kabira scoffed clearly annoyed. "And Kai is a bastard for hogging the front line position. I was really looking forward to it."

"Hey, it was first come first serve," Kai replied with a smug face. "By the way, you shouldn't expect much in the way of resistance as I will be wiping the floor with them."

Kabira felt even greater contempt for him now. "I swear to god that when this is over, I'm so kicking your ass Kai."

"Oh a one v one," Kai was amused by the thought. "That sounds interesting. I will be looking forward to it."

Kabira heard a loud yawn much to her annoyance. Irene stretched her arms and released another heavy and loud yawn. "No one v one, it's too much work. I wish I could sit down."

"We took away your seat for a reason Irene," Kabira explained crossing her arms and legs. "It was so that you don't fall asleep so easily. I know that if you sat down, you will be asleep within a couple of seconds."

"That's not true!"

Everyone waited patiently, as if expecting something more. Irene's voice quickly went from the confident woman to slightly unsure. "I mean that's mostly not true…"

The others still waited patiently. The silence got to her and she finally cracked. "Okay that is so totally true!"

"Quit wasting time with idle chatter guys," Dallas interjected feeling his brain turn to mush from this back and forth talk. "You all know what our job is. Make sure to keep the casualties to a minimum. Our troops trust us and have put their lives in our hands. We must repay that trust with keeping them alive."

The other generals all agreed in unison and waited with crossed arms for the first sign of trouble.

* * *

Small tremors of fear spread through the streets aggressively. The citizens who peered out their windows quickly retreated upon the notice of authoritative stares of the marching soldiers from Cradle of Hope. Nationwide citizens remained paralyzed by fear and a single thought of where could the protectors of their streets possibly be. But little did they know that the cops were equally frightened and frustrated. Frightened not of the terrorists, but of the bureaucracy that kept them from doing their job, and how deeply it infected their justice system. The cops raised their fists in the air, let their voices crowd the commissioner's ears, and their anger pierce his mind like a thousand needles. The commissioner raised his arms in an attempt to silence the many, but he was only one man against several. "I implore all of you to please calm down!"

They still rattled on until finally the commissioner raised his voice. "Quiet, all of you!"

The room went silent. Only a few coughs were audible. The commissioner breathed in an effort to calm himself and said. "You all saw the message about the bombs. We can't risk any government employees getting close with the intention of starting a conflict. Just imagine what the aftermath of a nuclear explosion would be like, the cries, hatred and anger of the people who would blame us for interfering and causing the explosion?"

"They are probably just going to blow up the bomb anyways!" shouted one officer. Others agreed and pointed to the commissioner in a retort. "So would you just prefer to sit here and die bending over the table for them or actually do something about it?"

"We will do what we can," answered the commissioner in a calm voice even amidst the slightly disrespectful remarks. "We will take action when the time is right. You have my word on that."

Many officers were not convinced judging by the number of times the government has accommodated the terrorist threats. The ATSG snipers scanned their areas and froze in place until they saw the first sign of their targets. The snipers all activated their radios and sent out an army wide message. "Trouble is here. The enemy is here."

"What is their formation like?" Siris inquired, and every sniper responded in a similar manner. "They are marching in a standard march formation. Nothing special about it, what should we do?"

 _This must a demonstration of their power to the general populace through numbers_. Siris pondered and transmitted the following orders. "Open fire at their feet as warning shots. If they don't stand down, kill them. Use silenced pistols to make the warning shots. We don't want our positions being given away."

Pffth! Pffth! Pffth!

Multiple shots exited the barrel and landed at the road in front of the soldiers. The line at the very front stoped prompting the others to halt and look ahead in wonder. The soldiers at their front look wide eyed at the holes, and in the holes they could somewhat make out the shell casing of the bullet thanks to the moonlight. They all drew their weapons and shouted to those in the back. "Enemy has opened fire!"

All of them dispersed to the cover they saw fit to be serving their needs. Many of them raised their weapons out from it to scan the area above them. The ATSG snipers shook their heads calling them fools and motioned for their squad mates to get a shot at the enemy. The snipers and the rest attached silencers to their guns and opened fire gunning down several Cradle of Hope soldiers. They opened fire at random hoping to hit the silenced death that seemed to be falling upon them all one by one. But rather quickly, quicker than any ATSG soldier anticipated, the enemy begun learning the general area of their location. All gun fire was quickly redirected to those areas. The snipers hid back behind cover and through hand signs, they signaled for their allies to no longer worry about being silent. The silencers were off, the heavy weapons were out and it was time to get to work. It soon became a firefight, war finally broke out in the streets and the general populace lied in their bedrooms, underneath the sheets terrified, or holding their family and friends close. The echoes sent shivers of fear throughout their minds, and each bullet that was fired leaving a scar on the city felt like an injury to the populace by extension. This was their home, and now their home was at the mercy of war.

* * *

"Ma'am," one of Aria's chosen guards stood with a salute and a nervous face. He wished not to be the bearer of bad news in front of her. "We have a problem. The front line march has just been engaged."

"Is it the government?"

"No, we believe it's the enemy organization that has always stood in our way so far."

"Then," Aria licked her lips. _That means he will come_. "Relay a message to every troop out there. The enemy currently being engaged are to be considered a very dangerous and a hostile entity, and their elimination is necessary to give birth to Earth once again. Our revolution can never be complete without their demise."

She slowly reached or her desk drawer and took out a family photo. The soldier waited patiently studying the slowly neutral face turn to contempt. On a whim she made the choice and said. "Also tell the generals that no one but me can kill the young assassin known as Alex. They will know what I'm talking about."

Aria clicked a few keys on her computer and sent a digital copy of the picture to every general. "Hurry with the orders."

"Right," the soldier quickly relayed the orders on his end and just as Aria predicted, she was met with resistance from Dallas. He was both shocked and worried at what could have made Aria make such a decision. "You are thinking too much with emotions rather than common sense. This is far too dangerous for you."

"Dallas, no matter what you say, he is my kill. I made a promise to kill him with my own hands, and I intend to do just that."

Dallas continued his protests. However Aria was quick with the firm decision and stated her orders were final. "My word is my will and you will follow it without question! Do not forget who gave you this opportunity Dallas. You can fight like this because of me. Worry about not me but yourself. I will always fight with the best interest of the world first."

"F…fine," Dallas reluctantly bowed his head in defeat. "Did you guys hear that?"

The other generals confirmed. Dallas once again repeated the orders to ensure it was heard by all. "Do not kill Alex, allow him to pass through."

* * *

Three pairs of feet rush through the thin, small back alleys. They turn corners from left to right amidst the ensuing chaos. Their sense heightened with every gunshot fired by the two sides. Alex who led the team of three remained on full alert. He motioned for the team to stop, and he stealthily studied the street this alley was going to lead them out to. He looked at the gun casing, bullets and shrapnel spread out sparsely on the streets. Dead bodies were evident, easily noticeable by the smell. Alex motioned for the two ladies to follow. As they crossed the streets doing their best to stick to the shadows, he asked for Church to update them on their route.

"Give me a second here," Church gathered real-time data as fast as he could dependant on the wireless connection to the various satellites over America. "There you go. I don't detect any enemies on our path right now, so we should be good for a while."

"Define while," Chloe spoke, and Church simply shook his shoulders in response before disappearing back into rest mode. As the group continued, Chloe made it a point to note to Alex about his idea of taking the back streets. "This back route was probably the best decision. We have come upon no resistance so far, and it's been a smooth ride."

"Oh damn it," Carolina scoffed. "Now you jinxed us."

"Uh so about that jinxing guys…," Church appeared once again with a not so optimistic voice. "I uh, I'm picking up enemy readings three blocks down from us now in every direction."

"Oh I hate my mouth right now," Chloe complained with Alex adding salt to injury. "Happens every damn time, doesn't it?"

"I guess they were saving up," Carolina spoke thinking of a plan just like the rest for their eventual encounter.

* * *

The ATSG soldiers held their own against Cradle of Hope amidst the large numbers. The snipers who now retreated from the front lines and instead began acting as support radioed into Siris for a status update. "Sir, we have a couple injured so far but we are managing to suppress the enemy even with our low numbers."

"Good, but be sure not to take this organization lightly," Siris announced studying the laptop for his soldiers' positions. _The resistance seems heaviest in the north part of downtown_. "The enemy soldiers are spread nationwide, if we defeat their leader here, the whole organization is at the risk of falling apart from a collapse in chain of command. Keep your heads on tight and remain sharp."

 _I can't change the placements_. Siris rested is chin in his hand and considered every possibility he could conceive. _Doing so risks the other sectors being taken over more easily_. The radio static shook him out of his thoughts as the snipers he recently talked with once again called much to his curiosity. The once calm voices now sounded distressed. Siris held up the transmitter close to his mouth and asked. "What is it, what's wrong?!"

"Sir, we have trouble!"

Siris heard the many screams in the background. It was almost as if they were getting massacred. _What is going on out there?_ Siris held up the transmitter close again and demanded answers. The words to follow however left him in complete shock. "Sir, they suddenly had several trucks full of soldiers pull up to support their front lines!"

The ATSG soldiers found themselves now on the defensive. The momentum of the battle changed in the blink of an eye. Heavily armored men exited the vehicle, and each carried a machine gun with a certain aura of intimidation to them. The armored men opened fire on the known positions of the ATSG soldiers, and without hesitance they were mowed down like lambs for slaughter. The heavy weapons wielders of the ATSG squads take out their RPG rockets. With a stable and precise aim they opened fire a well placed shot. The ensuing explosion caused the surrounding enemy soldiers to blast away, but their targets stood almost unscathed. The heavy weapons users all backed away with mouths dropped open. "H- How could they survive a RPG rocket blast?"

The usage of rockets however was an error in their judgement. They had left a clear cut trail of smoke that led back to their position. The heavily armored men opened fire shooting through the wall and impaling several targets. The normal enemy soldiers opened fire to support their own heavy weapons users. Sounds cut out from Siris' radio. He shouted in the transmitter hoping to receive some sort of response. But there was nothing, it was all silence. He called the other squad leaders. "Someone please respond, anybody!"

"This is…squad leader Omega…situation…bad," Siris eyed the receiver with relief, but worry due to bad reception. "Please repeat that, I didn't get your last report. You are cutting out."

"I repeat…situation…need…respond…"

 _This is no good_. Siris threw down the transmitter towards the back of the van in frustration. He reached for the weapons compartment below the seats and retrieved an array of weapons. _I didn't think I would be going out in the field_. He tested the sniper rifle, loaded in a new clip and cleaned the sights. He rested the rifle against his back. Siris reached towards a semi-automatic pistol as well as an assault rifle. He made sure to load up on a few grenades for good measure and closed the vehicle. Siris with a brave face ran towards the battlefield holding the assault rifle. "This should be fun…I hope."

* * *

 **A/N: So war has begun, look forward to more action set pieces now. Also, you may have noticed that in terms of word count, this was a shorter chapter than usual. Expect more of that as it will mainly be action now with some drama in between. So folks, I'm now taking all bets. Who do you think is going to die in this war if any?**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support the story, I appreciate it!**

 **~ Monty**


	15. Devastation

**Chapter 14: Devastation**

Siris stepped through the rubble, ran up to the edge of a building and reached behind him to the dangling spherical objects. He unpinned them from his belt and threw them out in a shower of death. The grenades clinked and clanged as they landed in the enemy territory. The Cradle of Hope soldiers all looked terrified at the little ball containing so much power of destruction.

Boom!

The fire embers rose in the air as bodies flung to the sides of the explosion. The black smoke cleared and several bodies lied dead amidst the exchange of gunfire. Siris took out his sniper rifle and shot down many enemy soldiers. He was quick and smart. He constantly kept on the move so that they would not be able to track his exact location. Any time a situation seemed hairy he held nothing back and let the enemy get a taste of what he considered hell. Mowing down a whole small sized squadron from the shadows, Siris joined up with the nearest ATSG soldier squad. "What's the status here?"

"We are barely holding them sir," the squad leader answered ducking for cover. He pushed his back against the wall with eyes terrified like he had seen a ghost. Siris gripped the man's shoulder tightly and shook him out of his cowardice trance. "We will hold them off, we can hold them off!"

Siris took out his sniper rifle and activated the motion tracker attached to the side. _Three targets are closing in our location from the front. Three people are not an issue, but they are spread out_. Siris motioned to two soldiers to his left and right using the silent communication language of hand signs and got into position. Their plan was ready, and Siris took the lead. Siris stuck his head out and shot the one in the middle. His two comrades opened fire at the other two just as they were about to focus their fire on the ATSG leader. Siris gave both of them a thumb up and helped the squad leader up. "Alright, everyone in this squad will focus on holding this sector. That is the primary objective, but secondary is to push them back."

"Yes sir!"

A huge firefight broke out yet again after a brief respite. The two warring sides seemed to be at a stalemate. But thanks to Siris' training and skills he has accumulated throughout his life, he was able to overpower the small army standing in his way. He flanked them from the back, eliminated many and opened pathways to the seemingly reachable victory for his comrades. Siris motioned forward for everyone to advance. "We can do this, push them back!"

Siris followed the squad leader to safety and demanded an updated from the other squad leaders. Their responses were all similar which concerned Siris. "We have a few more injured, no deaths, but injured. We are able to somehow hold them back so far, but we don't know how long we can keep this up for. We will eventually run out of ammo sir."

 _Somehow holding them back?_ Siris pondered, he gritted his teeth and told the squads to keep up the pressure. "Once the battle on this front has been brought back down under our control, I will head to the other squads and help as best as I can."

"Oh no, we got trouble here sir!"

 _What now?_ Siris with a fatigued expression looked in the direction the soldier pointed at. More trucks pulled up to support the enemy soldiers. Siris nearly let out a loud curse and ordered for the troops to keep up the fight. "If need be, fall back but do not let them through!"

The battle that once seemed to tilt in their favor quickly became uncertain. But even that uncertainty was disappearing and the tides were shifting in the enemy's direction. Siris could feel it in his chest, his efforts from before quickly seemed to be more of a triviality than anything else. Siris reached for his sniper rifle, he stared down the scope and became wide eyed at the numbers that presented themselves to him. "This is crazy…"

He punched a piece of cover in sudden fear and heaviness at the realization. He called out to all in his current squad and motioned backwards. "Fall back a block! If we stay, we risk everyone's lives right now. Fall back, recoup and then continue the defensive measures!"

* * *

Chloe, Carolina, and Alex, the trio neared the exit to the area identified by Church as the potential ambush spot. Alex stopped and prompted the others to do the same. He bent down and in a whisper said. "I will go ahead and scout out the enemy placements. We can then plan our move from there."

"Don't get too hasty out there," Chloe replied gently placing her hand atop his. He smiled in reassurance and left. Carolina smirked underneath the helmet and poked Chloe's cheek. "So you finally let those cats out of the bag eh?"

Chloe looked away with a huge blush. "S- Shut up!"

"Aw, don't you look cute when you are mad," further teased the ex-Freelancer earning herself an adorable pout from Chloe. Alex leaned out from the corner looking out into the street and was surprised by the lack of enemy soldiers. In fact, there were none visible to him. He pulled up the map with the enemy display and was quickly shocked to find that the once fully evident enemy numbers in the area had disappeared. _Did someone come and take them down? In that case there should be bodies here. So why did they leave?_ He called out to their AI companion. "Church, I need you here."

"I'm here."

"What is going on? I'm at the area you said there would be hostiles at," Alex looked at him with hard eyes. "So where are they?"

"First, take a chill pill dude," Church accessed his subroutines and connected to the various satellites. He pulled up an updated map and showed it to the young assassin. "They are still here, but they have moved further away from us. It looks like they are not doing anything other than maybe observing us."

Carolina and Chloe who had been listening in on the conversation this whole time began to theorize. Carolina chimed in with the simplest possibility she could think of. "Maybe they are letting us pass?"

"Yeah maybe, but Alex," Chloe was not too keen of taking this open invitation as it was. "I think we should move in the shadows and assassinate them. It would be wise to not leave any enemy alive behind us."

"No, there are too many of them," Alex called up the two ladies to his position. Once they reached him, he stated his wishes. "We will keep on moving without stirring up any trouble."

"Ma'am," a soldier bearing the insignia of Cradle of Hope on his uniform radioed into their leader. "He just passed the area with two other women. One of the women seemed like the one we had captured before, at least the armor was."

"Good," Aria licked her lips at the growing excitement. _The time grows near for when we meet again and finally end our pathetic family little brother_. "I want everyone to try and separate the young man from the women. I don't care what happens to the girls, I only want him to make it to me."

"Understood."

* * *

At the police station, while in the eyes of the commissioner there was order, internally every cop suffered from holding themselves back. The urge to act out was strong in all of them for their streets were being overrun by war. The cops looked around and with every innocent glance they fazed past one chosen individual who served as their communicator. Communicator to the other cops of the nation, a man of great importance in this hour of uncertainty. Said communicator left the large hall under the guise of a washroom break and sneaked into one of their many communication rooms. He looked behind to ensure he wasn't followed for his work was sensitive in nature, and not meant for any prying ears.

He logged in using one of their many dummy accounts. Thanks to their tech experts, he had one of the dummy accounts rigged with full privileges to the system that they normally wouldn't have. He had full control of the system while ensuring his activities aren't tracked under his own account. Activating the call button on the program, he attached a headset to his head and waited patiently for their large scale coordinated communication session that they had been planning ever since the gag order from the government. Slowly, one by one people started answering and soon every state had responded.

"Good, alright let's do this. I need to know everyone's status."

The answer no matter how the communicator looked at it was the same. They were still on lock down kept under a tight watch both by their commissioner and government forces. The communicator cursed silently as he leaned against the table. "This lock down won't do anyone any good. We need to be taking action."

"Agreed, but what is it that you have in mind?"

"Well the people keeping us in lock down are so few in number compared to the rest of us," the communicator suggested. "Think about it, there is a route open to us."

"But what about the nuclear bombs in the air?"

"Well we aren't going to do much good about it from in here," said one of the cops from Texas. "We will deal with it when the time comes. First we need to get out of here."

"Then in an hour we act, does that sound good?" asked the communicator. He quickly received many satisfied responses. The hour could not go by fast enough for them, for they could finally do something to protect their homes and people.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Muffins' ship Washington did his best to try and contact Carolina. However, he was only met with the damning gaze of the loading screen. Washington had been at it for a good twenty minutes now. _Normally we would connect within the first five minutes_. He looked at Buttmunch and asked. "Are we out of range for communications?"

Both Buttmunch and Boyscout confirmed their status. "You should be able to talk to people on Earth."

"It could be because they started the merry fighting!" Muffins suggested trying to feel up one of his male crew members. But he was quickly put back into place by Buttmunch who threatened to break a couple of his fingers. Washington rested his chin in his hand and knew that he could not deny such a possibility. The whole of BGC stood behind him all wondering what the next step would be. Sarge simply grunted snatching Wash's attention and asked. "So what happens now?"

"Isn't that simple?" Tucker said as he stepped forward with the decisive motions of his arms. "We go to Earth right away to provide help to Carolina."

Washington looked at the data their efforts had bore fruit to. He licked his lips and hummed in deep thought. Wash turned to face the others and nodded his head. "I suppose it is about time that our efforts pay off. It is time for us all to stand as one, or fall as individuals."

"Oh, this sounds so exciting!" Doc shouted in excitement. Simmons agreed and said. "Yeah, I will go do weapons inventory to make sure there is enough for everyone here to gun crazy. Going into war unprepared is no way fight."

"Make sure that there is a rocket launcher reserved specially for me," said O'Malley with a most maniacal laugh. "I plan on going on a blood spree."

"Grif, go with Simmons," ordered Sarge at which the orange soldier laughed. "I don't know Sarge, I don't think I'm fit to go."

"I agree," Simmons said without a second thought almost shocking his best friend. "Plus, he sucks at basic maths."

"Yeah, screw you to Simmons."

Simmons however was the last one laughing as he left the area. Tucker had a better idea which even Grif could partake in. "How about getting one last training session in with our swords?"

"Bow-chika-hump-bump," spoke Caboose instantly creeping out Tucker. "Just stop, please."

"Well I'm going for my wine and cheese hour. We don't know when I will have the chance to again once we get down there," said the pink soldier. While the rest prepared and indulged themselves in their preferred activities for this was going to be an all out war, Lopez seemed rather happy stating. "[I will go make sure the Pelicans are in working condition. Finally I get some peace and quiet away from you idiots.]"

* * *

In the cop station, an hour had gone by. Their blood was at a boiling point and the time to execute their escape was at hand. They looked to one another and nodded in understanding. For the other cities, they could only hope that they succeed. One by one, they headed out to the weapons room without raising much cause for alarm. They ensured not many left at the same time, and those who came back kept their weapons concealed against even the sharpest eye in this police station. The cops had made sure to retrieve whatever they could get.

The SWAT members in agreement with this plan all hid away with the heavier hitting weapons in the parking garage upon noticing the opportunity. Once everyone was armed and ready to go, they all signalled to one another with a single glance. It was that single glance that all it took to throw the station into chaos. The cops all started running to the surprise of the commissioner. He shouted to calm the crowd, and demanded answers for their behavior. His words fell on deaf ears. His spirit slowly dwindled in the face of the determination of his cops. The officers all ran up against the government issued employees and pushed them back. Many stole the keys to the doors and with deepening breaths they opened their gates to freedom and then war. The cops all ran out ensuring no harm came to the government employees in the process.

Nationwide the cops took to the streets. Some of them raised the garage shutters and the SWAT vans drove out to spread the assault rifles and shotguns. The ATSG that once felt being overpowered was now able to stand their ground thanks to the cops. The officers themselves were surprised to learn the existence of the secret government organization such as the ATSG. As the two sides joined forces, little by little they began to drive back the enemy. Siris upon quickly learning of the news was extremely thankful for the lucky turn of events. "Thank you all so much for coming out to fight."

"Don't mention it," said one of the cops taking down one of the terrorists with their assault rifle. "This city is our home, and we are the police charged with protecting it as well as the citizens. We couldn't just sit this out and watch terrorists just trample all over it."

"Thank you," Siris however also realized the consequences for these actions. "But I hope all of you understand that if I heard of your involvement rather quickly, the leader of the terrorist organization will have no doubt to. When that happens, we risk blowing up one of the nukes."

* * *

As predicted, the news was fast to travel to Aria's ears. She watched the news delivery soldier and slammed her fist against the table. _Why could you people not just sit still and let this pass over like a bad storm, why must you make it worse?!_ Her face saddened and her voice became weak at the heavy pressure this order weighed upon her. She reached out to her communications device and dialed for one of the carrier Pelicans.

"This is carrier Pelican C-0023RF, currently flying over the Southern areas of United State of America. I read you loud and clear ma'am."

"The time has come for you all to fulfill the purpose we trained you for," Aria spoke with a nearly deadened voice. The soldier instantly went quiet as he looked to the back where the other two looked intently at the communication window. They could hear every word, emotions played with their stomachs in anxiety, but at the same time a sense of honor was born. All of them nodded in agreement. "We understand. Please, when we are no more, make sure to make this world beautiful once again."

"You have my word," Aria gritted her teeth holding back the cries. Her soldiers put extreme amounts of faith in her, so much so that sometimes it could be so very unbearable. She cut the communication for the one final time with that Pelican and gripped her hair. She gritted her teeth and clenched shut her eyes. _You all brought this on yourselves_. Aria looked up at those in the room with her and stood up with a salute. "Think of our comrades who are going to in an act of bravery sacrifice themselves for the sake of our goals. Think of the general populace as they too will be sacrificed in the process all thanks to the foolish actions of the police."

The Pelican pilot leaned the joy stick forward upon confirming the population of the city below. They sat back and looked up at the blue sky. He spoke to the others who did the same. "Enjoy the view guys. Enjoy it for one last time…"

The citizens of the city looked up at the thundering sound of the sky and noticed the dark grey object approaching fast. Many pointed up in concern. The cops in that city looked wide eyed realizing the nature of the object. They all panicked and ordered for the citizens to get out of there. But just hiding in their own homes will no longer do them any good. The city wide alarms activated. The plane crashed against the ground, and the impact was enough to excite the once stable particles within the nuclear bomb. A huge flash of white light exploded from the bomb and a heat wave washed over the city, and beyond.

Everything within that heat wave began to burn down. Cars lost their paint. The fire hardened their once smooth exterior and caused uncomfortable internal reactions to the engines. The buildings all lost their windows from the force of the explosion. Everything inside burnt down to either ash or a weakened state. The structures of the building became extremely weak to the point that some even began collapsing. Many lost their exterior in certain parts of the buildings, especially the bits hit the hardest by the explosion. The humans and other living things all met the tragic fate of death where at first the initial wave instantly caused an uncomfortable reaction in their bodies thanks to the heat and radiation. Their bodies then caught fire and many screams rose in the air alongside several other cities. The mass on the bodies once burnt enough was blown away only leaving behind human bones by the next explosion wave. No life could ever hope to escape. Most of the South was taken down by that one nuclear bomb. In the aftermath, only the debris and a large mushroom cloud remained.

The governments around the world froze in shock. They all saw the large smoke cloud rise up above the area of impact. The pictures that followed the aftermath sickened a few. It was almost something like right out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. The human remains terrified them so. Only bones, and amongst some they could swear that they saw children's bones. One of the President's administration members slammed their fist against the table and shouted in frustration. "Why did this happen? I want answers! Also send out a radiation warning to the nearby cities of that explosion!"

"Sir, it seems that the police officers acted out," said one of the employees pointing to some footage moments before the explosion. Aria called over one of her subordinates. "Tell our media informants to play the tape R-023."

The governments around the world eyed their TVs as the message was broadcasted from various news stations. In this message, Aria stood at the podium with a most disappointed and saddened face. "I asked that no government employee, civil servant or military interfere but it seems that you could not follow my demands. Due to the negligence on your part, I have taken the liberty of ordering the southern part of the USA to be eradicated through one of my carrier planes. You should be hearing this message because the bomb has already devastated the cities, the people and any life caught in the blast radius. You brought this upon yourselves, we gave you a way out and yet again you decided to do this the hard and the costly way. Should I find any more interference, I will not hesitate to order for more bombs to fall."

The government employee pointed to the phones and demanded that their justice department overlooking the police forces be put on the line. He slammed his fist against the table as he spoke to the person on the other end of the line. "Someone want to explain what the hell is going on here, why were the cops out on the street?!"

"I'm sorry sir but it seems that they managed to overpower our people and leave for the fight."

"Well get it back under control, I don't care how you do it!"

"Y- Yes sir."

The government employee slammed the phone and brushed his hair to the back. He felt his sweat build up and the horrors of the aftermath still haunted him so in his mind. _These terrorist bastards are really serious. What can we even do?_

Siris looked at the communication receiver wide eyed. The cops near him all felt their legs tremble in fear. The news of the bombing spread fast amongst their networks. Church helped with the initial spread to ensure everyone was informed. He sent whatever photos he could from the satellite surveillance observations. Carolina punched the wall in anger. Chloe covered her mouth at the leftover bones of the little children, almost ready to throw up. Alex closed shut his eyes and cursed his sister from the bottom of his heart. _The more I see your vision taking shape, the more I detest you. A simple life was something you never believed in. You could have left all this behind and lived in peace sis. But with this you have completed your journey into insanity_.

Carolina let out a loud, and a frustrated grunt. "God fucking dammit, where are Washington and the rest?!"

"You guys need to back off for now," said Siris earning a few rebellious stares. He was quick to control the situation however. "If you all continue to fight right now, they will not hesitate to detonate another bomb. If not here, then it would be in another country. More lives will be lost!"

"Fine," said the makeshift leader of the cops in this city. He did his best to reach out to all connected on the same network and said. "Everyone, back off and retreat for now. We can't risk any more bombs going off on our account."

As the cops fell back one by one, their leader looked at Siris and said. "You guys better have some way to take care of those bombs somehow."

"I'm working on it, but nothing solid so far."

* * *

The trio finally reached Aria's position marker and looked all around in anger. Carolina could not wait to get her hands on Aria so she could beat out the deactivation codes for the bombs from her and have her order the troops to stand down. But most of all, a small part of her also wished to simply torture her in the way she was tortured. But she always fought to hold that side of herself back. Chloe raised her arms in question. "Where is she?!"

"Hold on," Alex restarted his gauntlet's computer. Chloe was quickly growing impatient. "Hurry."

"I said hold on!" Alex shouted quickly silencing his partner. He rebooted the map display and saw that there was no change. In fact the position was still at the spot he stood at. Carolina looked over his shoulders and then slowly looked to the ground beneath them. "Could it be…that she is underground?"

"It's possible," confirmed Alex not entirely dismissing an underground base possibility. "If she is, then we need to find a manhole or some other entrance."

"Then we better hurry," stated Carolina quickly leading the way with Church's directions.

* * *

In the space defense line surrounding Earth, there was a disturbance in space and time picked up by the many advanced machinery owned by the UNSC. The admiral of the fleet walked up to his highest ranking officer and asked for an explanation. The officer however could not pin point the exact cause until they saw a slip space travel portal tear open. From within the portal exited several UNSC ships!

A high alert warning was sent out throughout the admiral's fleet. Communication officers manned their stations and began opening lines of communication. "UNSC ships, you are entering a protected zone under Admiral Graves' fleet. Identify yourselves as well as your orders so that we may confirm your identity and intentions here."

"What's up my hommies? This be da deliciously superstar Muffins here ja," said the German captain. The UNSC not one to take jokers lightly prepared their cannons and loaded the shells. The admiral however took over the fleet operations and ordered for all ships to stand down. He quickly found some resistance amongst his right hand man. "Sir, what are you doing?"

"Let them through, that's an order."

"Sir, with all due respect I think that is an irrational decision. We don't know what they could be carrying down to Earth."

The admiral placed his hand on his second-in-command and with a most relaxed face he said. "They are a trusted bunch, I know them personally. Let them pass."

"Yes sir," the others relayed the message to Muffins' fleet who thanked them for their understanding. Upon reaching the edge of Earth's stratosphere, the ships parked themselves in one spot. The reds and the blues looked down on the blue pearl. Some displayed excitement for this would be there first time down there.

"Sorry I wasn't here for when we exited the slip space," Washington noted as he entered in his old colors of dark grey and yellow. Donut pointed his finger at the armor and noted. "Now that's a good look for you, very Washington like. It's not as awesome as lightish red, but I can work with it."

Washington snickered underneath the helmet as he crossed his arms and looked at Earth. He told the communicator on the bridge to open whatever secure channels they could. "I want to talk to Carolina to get a basic idea of the situation down below. It's time we get down to business."

* * *

 **A/N: So the reds and the blues are here, alas too bad they could not be here to prevent the nuclear tragedy. But now the real battle begins. Please look forward to the next chapter when they finally get to go down to Earth and turn the tides of the battle.**

 **Constructive feedback is always welcomed!**

 **Thank you for reading, I appreciate the support! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	16. Hope

**Chapter 15: Hope**

The trio hunting down Aria stopped at a manhole indicated by Church. He pointed to the object and said. "This should lead to the sewer system."

"She decided to set up base in the sewer?" Chloe pondered having felt a shudder at the thought. Carolina crossed her arms and said. "How charming."

"We don't know for sure," Alex clamped his hands on both sides of the grate. "For all we know, this could be another dead end search."

"Let's hope it's not," Carolina bent down to help him out as did Chloe. The three lifted the manhole together and dragged it to the side. Alex looked into the dark hole and looked at the other two. "So, who wants to do the honors, ladies first?"

"Yeah, no," Chloe laughed pushing him closer to the hole. Carolina smirked underneath the helmet and threw her arms up stepping away from the two. Alex breathed out a sigh. "Great, thanks for sending me into the scary hole first guys."

 _Oh, if only Donut were here_ , said Church to Carolina. "Yeah, he does love his holes."

"What?" Chloe stared up with a freaked out expression. Carolina quickly moved to correct the misunderstanding. "I was talking with Church about someone else."

Alex climbed all the way to the bottom and activated the light on his gauntlet. He looked from left to right. It was a long outstretched thin hallway with the damp smell of the sewer water invading his nasals. He pointed the light upwards towards the women and motioned for them to follow. As Chloe entered, Carolina received a much needed call. Church displayed the holographic video screen in which Washington's face appeared in his classic colors. "Wash, am I ever happy to see you and the rest to."

"Well hearing that tune makes it worth it coming all the way to Earth," he laughed and then got down to business. "So we need a situation status Carolina. We need to know what is happening down there before we drop in."

"Dropping in is no longer a valid option."

"Why?" asked Tucker stepping up beside Wash. He pushed the aqua soldier to the side and asked the same as him. Carolina told Church to transmit the carrier Pelicans data. "See that? Those are enemy Pelicans each carrying a nuclear bomb. One was already detonated over South USA."

"Oh shit," whispered Tucker and the rest of the BGC looked in horror. They all wondered if they arrived too late. Carolina however continued to explain the situation in an effort to have them take action quickly. "There are still bombs in the air that have yet to be detonated. You will need take care of those first before doing anything else. If not, the bombs may explode all around the world causing even greater loss of life on a global scale."

"Can't you guys do anything about it on your end?" asked Simmons. Carolina shook her head. "Unfortunately not, anything we may even attempt to do will result in the detonation of the bombs. The enemy leader has the hands of the governments tied behind their backs."

"I have an idea guys," Muffins raised a finger in the air and waited for a response. As some time went by he strained one eye staring at the BGC. Tucker looked at the rest and said. "Hmm, you know I'm too afraid to even ask…but what is it?"

"We have Pelicans. We have the equipment needed to cut through the roof of the carrier planes as well as some rope and clamps to rob the cargo right out from underneath their evil bums…"

The BGC looked at one another with Lopez saying. "[You have done crazy things before. I didn't care then because I wasn't involved. Now that I'm, I say you are fucking insane.]"

O'Malley on the other hand seemed to be having a hell of a time. "Mwhahaha! You crazy, I like."

"Well, if you guys do execute this over the top action hero explosive plan that would give a certain movie director the orgasm of his life," Church displayed a few coordinates and swiped them to the right. The notifications on the UNSC ships raised an alert and the BGC looked closely into them. "I figure you will need those. That's the last known coordinates. Even if the ships move, they shouldn't move that far away. I have also included the direction the ships are headed in to make things easier for you. You better move fast."

"Thanks Church," said Tucker as the video went blank.

* * *

In a state just outside of the blast radius, in one heavily populated city many civilians were being evacuated to shelters. As the underground shelters became full, the government started asking for any businesses that could lend a hand. From several shops and buildings, large lines of civilians extended all itching to get to safety. In the line were a father and his only son waiting anxiously to take shelter. The boy held a ball of rather slippery nature as it slipped up from his arms and went bouncing about further away. The boy chased, as did the father. "Don't go!"

The boy was determined to retrieve his prized gift from his father that he received at a very young age. The father turned a corner following the kid and saw the boy finally reach the ball. As the child picked it up, the father ran up and picked him up almost shouting at him. "Don't run off like that ever again, do you even know how worried I was?"

The boy looked down clearly reflecting on his actions. But an orange fiery gaze caught his eye and pointed to the sky. "What is that daddy?"

The father looked in the direction of the finger and his eyes widened. From the sky there were several orange and smoky objects seemingly descending towards surface. _It couldn't be more nuclear bombs, could it?_ He began rushing back to the shelter's line all the while keeping his attention divided between the road and the objects in the sky. Upon closer inspection, he realized that these objects were descending from the atmosphere, something that would contradict anything the Cradle of Hope has said before. _So then what could it be?_

The city wide alarms raised greater concern in him. As the battles throughout the streets raged on, the alarms told him that the fight was getting closer. With no time to waste, he immediately got to work on running towards a shelter at top speeds.

* * *

Aboard the UNSC ships, Washington ensured his message was heard by all. "This is it. We are going to be going down to Earth via the drop pods. So be sure to load up for the big fight ahead. This is where your training will pay off."

"Drop pods, seriously?" Simmons groaned in fear. "I have barely had any training on them."

"It's not that hard bro," Tucker mused. "You just gotta fondle a bunch of joy sticks is all."

"Okay, I don't even want to imagine it," Simmons answered turning towards a corner. Idaho standing behind Simmons gave him a good fright. "Well you weren't there in the ice base with us, but I can attest that it can be pretty spanking difficult for some people. It can even be a life challenge for a few."

Iowa noticed Idaho's gaze. "What?"

"Nothing, just recalling some memories…unpleasant memories…"

The orange soldier walked up to his fellow Chorus soldiers and asked. "Hey Bitters, Matthews, would you two want to squad up?"

"It will be my pleasure!" Matthews noted. "Finally a chance to fight with Grif in battle."

"And I can show you that I don't just eat, I am also a pretty useful soldier," said Bitters. But his act was quickly busted as Matthews snatched a hidden snack bar from the back of Bitters' belt. "So what is this then hmm?"

Simmons clapped his hands excited for their descent upon a very important realization. "I finally get to lead troops into battle, imagine that, I get to be a leader!"

"Well Simmons," Sarge rested a palm on Simmons' shoulder calming him down. "If you ever need advice, I am always here for you."

"Ha, you Sarge?" Tucker nearly burst out into a fit of laughter. "I think Caboose is better equipped to give advice. I don't think advice from a guy who would constantly lose his flag over to us so easily is equipped to give any in the first place."

Sarge waved his fist at him with a grunt. "Why I oughta-"

"I'm looking forward to this field trip!" Caboose shouted holding up his arms. "It will be the best field trip ever of all time with my ice planet buddies!"

Terrill took out a small bottle of whiskey, and with caution he passed it around to his crew. They all took a little sip for good luck. "Here is hoping to see you all in our bar someday."

"And to kicking some serious ass all the way to victory down there," added Idaho to which they all gladly agreed. Andersmith looked at Caboose with glimmer in his eyes. He held his hands together but quickly assumed a military stance upon noticing Caboose's gaze. "Sir, it will be my great honor to serve under you once again in battle."

"Yes, and then once we are done with the fighting, I shall erect that Kool aid fountain I said I would before," Caboose said with a proud chest. "Then we may drink out of it together!"

Palomo stared at the holographic image of Jenson with the feelings of a parent rising strong. He runs his finger upon Jenson's cheek and promises. "I will get home to my family."

"Don't be so nervous man," Tucker bumped shoulders with the Chorus soldier. "I will make sure you get back home. Plus if she finds out that we were in the same squad, and I didn't get you home safe and sound…I'm pretty sure I can say goodbye to certain bits in my southern regions."

* * *

The alarm for the next step of their plan went off. Every soldier aboard the ship allocated to ground forces entered the drop pods. Washington sat in one himself making it as cozy as possible. He stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles. He activated the communication screens to the various pods with the BGC and said. "Alright guys, let's make this one hell of a ride to remember."

The Pelicans containing the reds and the blues descended from the skies. The pilots were quick to tail their targets and soon get ahead upon confirming the readiness of their teammates. The pilots looked back and noticed the troops ready. "Clamp the cable to your belts. Make sure that it is fastened on correctly. I don't want anyone going down into the ocean today. Remember, one carries the additional cable for the bomb."

"We got it," replied the many reds and blues. The pilots at the front opened the bay doors and felt the cool rush of the air nearly sweep them of their feet. The air current was strong, had it not been for their gravity boots, they would have gone flying by now. The Cradle of Hope pilots were not too tardy however and pointed up above them to alert their guards. "We might have trouble!"

The reds and the blues jumped out of the plane assuming a straight free fall position. Like bricks they began falling towards the ground, and only adjusted position via their jets to meet the enemy. The enemy soldiers felt the hull shake from an impact on the roof. One of the soldiers nearly opened fire when he was stopped by his partner. "Don't, only fire if the roof tears open. The bullets can bounce around in here."

The invaders to the carriers all looked at the ones with the special attachment of tool cases to their back. They retrieved an iron torch and began cutting through the metal hull. The enemy soldiers inside looked at one another worriedly and trained their weapons on the roof. As the orange line increased in length, the more they sweated. With a loud clang, the roof gave away, the top section flew away and the immediate burst of air threw the guards of their feet. The introduction of the foreign atmosphere to the one in the plane somewhat disturbed the pilots as the planes hovered off balance. The reds and the blues motioned to one another. "Let's move fast people!"

"Be careful to not hit the bomb in there," said the pilots from the friendly planes.

"We know, we know."

Two retrieved their pistols and only fired upon seeing a clear cut opportunity. The one carrying the extra cable quickly attached it around the bomb, shot out the restraints on the floor and opened the bay door. The pilots were quick to notice the robbery. They took out their pistol but quickly receded from firing. The reds and the blues stood behind the bomb acting as their cover. One of the invading soldiers from every squad called to their planes and said. "Alright, reel us in."

 _Please let this work_ , the pilots wished upon hitting the pull button on the newly installed winch system. The bomb along with the squads all rushed out from the planes, they all held onto its sides to keep it from experiencing too much turbulence. The pilots tilted the joystick backwards as the Pelican began to rise towards the atmosphere. The reds, blues and the bombs rushed inside the Pelicans nearly upsetting the balance within. The squads quickly checked the stability and gave a thumb up. The pilot breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, you guys know the next step of the plan. Let's make it count people!"

Every Pelican escaped Earth and slowly flew past the UNSC defense line. Muffins aboard his ship spoke to the Admiral hoping to ensure the safety of his men. "Can you take in my beautiful men aboard on that sexy metal ship of yours Admiral?"

"Um…of course."

"Lovely," Muffins gripped his hands together lovingly and noted. "I will be sure to repay the favor…hoh hoh."

"No need," and the screen immediately went black. The pilots undid their seatbelts and opened the bay doors. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready like two rabbits ready to breed the whole town down," said one of the reds. The others tilted their head in wonderment. "Whaaat?"

"Exactly."

"Just go," one pilot spoke clearly tired of their antics. Everyone one of them but the pilots flew out towards the UNSC ships. The pilots however had one last task of activating the bombs and ensuring their explosion at a safe distance. As they achieved their task, they too left and landed within the safe confines of the protective shields surrounding the ships. The bombs all exploded in unison creating a firework of orange fiery death and radiation. Inside the UNSC ships, they were greeted by the military personnel who guided them to the transport bay for delivery. Muffins clapped his hands impressed at their handy work and spoke to them through a safe communication. "Great work my boys, now come back so that I may give you a lot of loving and load up in the launching pods."

Church echoed a cry of joy in Carolina's head just as she winced at her now smell coated armor. He appeared beside her proclaiming great news. Carolina rubbed one of her boots on a dry area and asked. "Okay, what is it?"

"The guys took care of the bombs."

"What?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow. Church showed them the map data he was tracking. "See, it's true."

"What if they are using some sort of cloaking technique?" Chloe suggested not wanting to rain on their parade, but at the same time not wanting to get blinded by too much optimism. Church let out a huge groan. "Oh come on, have a little faith and be more optimistic."

"Yeah," Alex grinned towards Carolina still unable to believe it. "This is better than nothing because at this point I was about to start believing in Santa Claus again just so he could come down and give me my Christmas wish early."

"I knew we could count on them," Carolina said lifting her fist in the air. "Even if their entrance was a bit late sadly."

"I have more good news," and all eyes were on Church. He activated the visual displays around the city and any other city he could get access to. "Just watch."

Siris heard his radio stutter. "Hello?"

"Siris," Church spoke to him via one of his multi-tasking subroutines. "I got something good to show you. Look up."

* * *

The drop pods released one by one. Simmons patiently watched the data updates roll in rather quickly. "Pods from ship five away, pods from ship three away, pods from ship four are now in atmosphere. Every ship has ejected their pods, now beginning launch sequence of pods in main ship."

Simmons could already feel the vibrations echo from one end to the other as the pod to his far left launched. One by one they exited the safe confines of the ship and into the soundless space. Simmons was the last to go, he felt the hard bump of the launch as he held onto the joy sticks rather tightly. _Okay, just fondle the joysticks…oh god that sounds so wrong_. He felt the hull cease its shaking, and his sense of direction was quickly subverted. It was only thanks to the equipment on board the pod that he felt his mind be right again. "I swear to god that if we make it out of this guys, I'm just going to be happy in my room working on my secret super computer for the rest of my life now."

He was only met with static. When he looked down below, he noticed that every other pod had entered the stratosphere making communications difficult. His pod began to exude an orange glow from the bottom up. The hull began to shake violently as inside he was being tossed from left to right only kept safe by the seat belt. _Oh please make it down below safe and sound, I promise to be nice to Grif…I mean I will try_. He saw the friction heat only increase as he entered the atmosphere. The cosmic surroundings turned blue when he entered the sky and broke through the clouds. _Okay Joysticks, please work_. He eyed the coordinates and just how centered in he was. He twisted the right joystick a little to the left shifting position with the help of in-built jets. He pressed a button that activated the folded metal parachute atop the drop pod. As it shot up into the air, the jets below the pod activated to help slow the speed. As the parachutes wore out, they were released away.

Siris rested a hand above his eyebrows to protect them from the slowly rising sun. _Well I will be damned, they are here. Then that would mean that the bombs are no longer active_. He raised an arm in the air and said. "Rejoice boys because the bombs are gone! We can fight all out now!"

Simmons looked at the nearing ground and fiddled with the joysticks. He did his best to avoid the buildings in the way but even his limited skills could not keep him from making an adequate entry. He crashed into the side of one, deflected into another and made a hard crash landing standing up and tilted to the side at about a forty five degree angle. _Ow, that could have gone exponentially better_. He punched the buttons on the top, the sides and the bottom of the pod to undo the hatch. Upon undoing the seatbelt, he felt Earth's gravity for the first time and was surprised by it. He fell down with the hatch and grunted in annoyance. He took out his assault rifle, pistol and rocket launcher from the pod. "Can anyone read me? I've touched down into my assigned landing zone."

"Relax man, no need to be all military like about this," Grif responded giving Simmons a sense of relief. "Except we are the military now Grif."

"Meh, apples and oranges."

The ATSG soldiers overjoyed at the development tracked the smoke to the general area and marked it on their maps. Siris received the coordinates and ordered an immediate search party. "Ensure a safe exit for them from there so that we can coordinate face to face with them here."

"Yes sir!"

Simmons looked around shaking off the dizzy spell and asked. "Where are the rest of the people?"

"All spread throughout the city I imagine," Grif noted with Tucker coming into the mix. "Like I was spread out over that hot pilot chick."

"Really Tucker, really?" Grif asked clearly disappointed by the terrible timing. Tucker simply shook his shoulders at the remark. "Meh, haters will be haters dude."

Siris contacted the leaders of the police army and confirmed their status. "It's safe for you guys to come out now. The bombs are no more and we have new allies coming in from the Red and Blue armies of Project Freelancer, so don't fire at them."

* * *

Aria felt her fist tremble with her eyes shot wide open. _The bombs have been destroyed, and now they have reinforcements?_ She gritted her teeth and glared towards the news carrier. "Tell the troops to fight harder, rest less and send in more heavily armored soldiers to lead the charge!"

Other individuals from the pod exited and retrieved their weapons. Washington rubbed the back of his helmet and shook his head. _Ow, that was an elegant entrance_. He took out his assault rifle and placed his sword to the side. "This is a message to everyone in the city. Rally up at the previously discussed safe zone. There we should be able to meet up with the ATSG soldiers."

As the troops ran to their pinpointed coordinates, they were met with several allies along the way in the name of ATSG. The two sides formed a brotherhood of those fighting for survival, freedom and victory. The ATSG soldiers all guided the reds and the blues to the location of their leader. Along the way every key BGC member caught up and Washington was fast to begin the planning. "Everyone will split into several squads. The squads will be composed of two leaders. Do we have any volunteers?"

"Oh," Donut raised a hand jumping in excitement alongside Caboose. "Pick us!"

"Oh I can already see that being a recipe for disaster going wrong in so many ways," pondered Wash in a subtle whisper. As if the two women were on the same wavelength, Ohio and Sherry raised their hand up in the air and said. "We will volunteer to go as their squad."

"Well that will make me feel a lot more comfortable doing it this way," answered the grey soldier as he watched Sarge look to their Spanish robot. "Lopez, you know I believe in you. So go and protect your comrades!"

"[I will shoot them myself. Just kidding, I will leave them out for the vultures actually.]"

Matthews looked to Bitters and nodded his head in understanding. He looked back to their leader and said. "We are going with Grif."

"That's fine," Washington pointed his finger to a couple of reds and blues. "You guys will go with Grif. Matthews, you are the second leader of the squad. Be ready to lead these guys to victory, it won't be a cake walk."

"Don't you worry," Matthews rubbed the visor where his nose would be and grinned. "Motivation is my name, and exciting people is my game."

"Simmons, Tucker you are together as squad leaders. You will take a squad with you."

Palomo ran up beside Tucker. "This is it Tucker."

"Yeah man, so let's focus on giving it to them hard."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow," said Palomo getting a disgusted stare from Tucker. "Dude, don't, that's my thing."

"Sarge," Wash looked to his right. "You are with me."

"What should I do?" Doc inquired slightly unnerved by the rocket launcher. However no matter whenever he tried to let go of the thing, he was always stopped by his alter ego. Wash nearly stopped in his tracks surprised at Doc's voice. "Oh ah…I actually kind of forgot you were there…sorry. But you know what? You should go gun crazy on the battlefield, let the O'Malley out from within!"

"Here we are Agent Washington," said one of the ATSG soldier pointing up to the man looking from up above. He smiled with wide spread welcoming arms. He rushed down to the grey leader and held out a hand. Wash took the gesture into a firm handshake. He smiled and rested a palm atop their unison. "It is an honor to meet you, to meet all of you finally."

He looked from one side to the other, and scanned everyone from head to toe. "Carolina has talked about you all so much."

"Where is she?" Wash asked knowing that if he didn't, then Tucker would in a not so considerate voice. Siris activated the live map display and said. "She is with a squad of two other people currently trying to chase down the leader of the terrorist organization. They are a reliable bunch. Here, I will pass on access to you guys so you can keep yourselves up to date on her position."

"We would appreciate that," said the grey agent looking back towards Tucker. "We also hope to make it a priority to chase her down and help her take down their leader."

"Of course, that would be the natural course of action," Siris noted as he explained the overall combat situation for now. "The cop forces combined with ours are managing to hold the line for now. It seems that when you guys took away their toys from the sky, it really hit their motivation hard."

"Good," Wash looked back to the reds and the blues. "We will stick together for now as we move through the front lines. Let's hope that a situation where we need to split up should never come."

As they advanced, they met the first wave of the enemy resistance. The AI fragments were quick to get to work and organize battle plans for their hosts to follow. Washington noticed the considerable performance upgrade since he first saw them. _It looks like those hours of rigorous training I put them all through are finally paying off_.

* * *

"Ma'am, our numbers are dwindling fast," the soldier standing in front of Aria's desk spoke breaking out into a cold sweat. Aria tapped her finger impatiently on her desk and bit her lower lip. _So this is what all of it amounts to? Even after all the superior training we gave to them, they are still bested by those who are nothing more than a small thorn in our side_. She slammed her fist and glared at the desk. Ever so slowly, she reached out for the communicator and connected herself to the Generals. "I need all of you to be ready."

"You sound more concerned than I would like to hear," Dallas noted treading carefully. Aria flexed her fingers and cracked every muscle in her hand to relieve it of the built up stress. "I want their newly acquired reinforcements to fall at Kai's or Kabira's hand."

"Don't worry," said Kai as Kabira continued. "We will take care of it. If by any chance they do make it past us though, there are Irene and Dallas as well."

"Right," Dallas agreed and Irene simply yawned in her spot. She began humming a tune to herself with a wide innocent smile amidst the sounds of agony on her communicator which connected her to the basic troops. "It's so boring here that it makes me want to fall asleep standing. I hope they make it here soon, I'm curious about our opponents and what tricks they have to play on me."

* * *

 **A/N: Next chapter, the reds and the blues get thrown into the action. Stay tuned folks for now we get into the meat of the final battles.**

 **Constructive criticism/feedback is always welcomed!**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support the story/trilogy! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	17. Meet your Opponents

**Chapter 16: Meet your Opponents**

Aboard the allied ships, staring Earth in all her beauty, Muffins stood twirling his moustache. He watched the audio loader connect to the receivers. "Wunderbar, hello my Blood Gulch Hommies! I wanted to let you all know that since I'm so nice, I'm sending down Pelicans with vehicle attachments to help you in your journey. Feel free to come back and thank me in more ways than one, PS I don't mind getting down and dirty in an orgy, oh lala!"

"Sarge, what did I just hear?" Simmons asked so very confused and fearful. Sarge braced his own fears and stated. "Obsession Simmons, an obsessed…I hesitate to use the term love, maybe sex maniac is more appropriate."

Washington looked up at the smoky objects descending towards the surface. The Pelicans stabilized and the pilots disengaged the boxed walls surrounding the vehicles to protect them from the atmospheric heat. "Rejoice boys for the cavalry is here!"

The Pelicans descended down to the streets and released the Warthogs. The pilot waved to the grey ex-freelancer and said. "We will give support to the ground troops. You guys go and do some serious damage!"

The ATSG soldiers all in the middle of an exchange with their enemies looked up at the thunderous echo in the sky. The Pelicans flew through the streets opening fire with their missiles and onboard machine guns against Cradle of Hope. Washington motioned for the soldiers to load up. "Let's go, we have been given a very useful gift, so make good use of it."

"Simmons," Grif got the maroon soldier's attention. "Shotgun."

"Ah dammit, I wanted to drive for once."

Sarge noted reloading his shotgun. "Mount up boys, the war gods have blessed us to mow down our enemies."

"Dark dude," Tucker noted walking towards one of the Warthogs. Donut jumped into one of the seats and said. "Almost as dark like the holes I saw on the streets a while ago."

"I don't even want to go into how many things are wrong with that statement," Bitters said lazily. Matthews mounted up on the turret. "Come on gang, we are wasting time. We have to fight to win!"

Grif agreed taking the driver position. Simmons and Sarge stared longingly at Grif. The orange soldier creeped out by their stares asked. "What is it?"

"No it's nothing really," Simmons said as Sarge explained. 'We have always ridden together, whether it be into war or just simple road trips. So it feels kind of strange to be riding in separate vehicles."

Andersmith manned the machine gun on the back of a Warthog. "Ready for action Captain Caboose!"

Donut sat in the driver's seat upon noticing his partner approach. Caboose rode shotgun and said to the pink soldier. "Go forth and spread our team glory to the rest, and then we can all find giant dinosaur eggs to eat together!"

Tucker turned towards Simmons and pointed a finger at the driver. "Dude, drive like you mean it this time. None of that goody two shoes follow the law to the letter shit this time."

Simmons whimpered at the prospect of breaking the driving laws. He pointed to the radio and asked. "Can I at least play Beethoven?"

"No."

Simmons whimpered with Palomo chiming in to help create some unison in their team. "I love a bit of Beethoven!"

"Psst, no you don't," Tucker held back the large laughter slowly crawling its way up his vocal cords. "You don't even read."

"Hey, I read!"

"Well I have never seen you do it in all the time we spent together on this journey. Trust me dude, I know you well in several ways."

"Um," Simmons shifted uncomfortably in his seat with Tucker punching his arm. "No homo man!"

Grif turned the keys and heard the engines rev up. He looked back and motioned to the rest. "You losers better not fall behind!"

Grif made a sharp left earning some complaints from the back. Simmons looked to the sides where they saw enemy soldiers confused and disorientated by the sudden line of Warthogs driving past. Those manning the machine guns opened fire mowing down their enemies without a second thought or remorse. The resistance in their way stood no chance at victory in a head on fight. Any enemy soldier that felt heroic today would be met with the ultimate fate of death. Bitters stood up from his seat and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He motioned for the orange soldier to stop, and the sudden stop sent the others into slamming their brakes. Washington looked ahead at the leading car and asked. "What's going on?!"

"Um…we see some roadblock set up ahead by the enemy," Matthews noted. Grif verified. "Hang on, I have an idea!"

"Want to explain the idea to us?" inquired Simmons as Grif slammed the gas pedals. _I guess not_ , Simmons was visibly frustrated. He followed the lead increasing speed with every mile achieved by Grif. The orange soldier called upon his fragment for its aid. "Microsoft Sam, I need your help. Figure out how to make this jump happen!"

"Wait, jump?" Bitters nearly fell out of the Warthog in shock. Gamma took into account the various variables based on the satellite imaging, visor camera feed and information shared by the other fragments. He quickly ran silent calculations before mapping a visual jump pattern on Grif's visor. He saw the angle he needed to jump at, the speed he needed to approach with and the debris he could use to achieve their goal. Highlighted in red, Grif slowly steered the vehicle towards its direction. Tucker held the top of the windshield while holding his helmet with an exaggerated expression. "You better know what you are doing!"

Grif's Warthog made contact with the debris. The shock absorbers caused the vehicle to bounce with force as the occupants jolted back and forth. _I hope I know what I'm doing to_. Grif changed gears and increased speed. The car took off in the air. The time around the enemy soldiers on the other side seemed to slow down. The Warthog made it over. The vehicle stayed floating in the air against the terrified faces of the enemy soldiers. Two were unfortunate enough to meet the rubber muscle of the front two wheels of the Warthog. They went flying back as little particles of spit came flying out. Their bodies tumbled down to the ground on the sides and Grif landed hard. He looked back at the two bodies and shouted. "How do you like that taste of rubber you assholes?!"

* * *

Aria gripped the edges of her desk and glared at the reports on her screen in extreme disappointment. _Our soldiers are doing worse than I thought they would. In fact, with the new reinforcements for the ATSG, they seem to have lost their morale_. She dialed the contact line for every General and got them on her monitors. "They are headed for you."

"How many?" asked Dallas.

"Several, too many to count according to the report."

"Then I may finally get my wish for some action," Kabira grinned cracking her knuckles. "You hear that Kai, you won't be able to handle them all on your own."

"You never know, I'm a badass you know."

"I think you mean arrogant," argued Kabira with a condescending laugh. Kai held up a middle finger. "Yeah, fuck you to Kabira. Why don't you come say that to my face eh?"

"I can always do that after this is over, we can make it an intimate match up if you would like."

"Intimate you say? That probably involves one of us breaking the other person's arm or something right?"

"Aw, you know me so well."

"We will need to adjust our strategy for this event," Dallas said thinking of a new formation. "Instead of relying on the current structure, we will all need to become a wall of defense."

"And like that you just read my mind," Kabira nodded her head anxious to fight her opponents. Kai let out a whimpering sigh. "I was hoping to fight against uneven odds."

"You will still get to," Aria replied. "From the numbers I see here, even if they split up they will have more than what you four possess."

"But they are just numbers," Irene stretched her arms tiredly. "Skill is equally, if not more important."

"Be ready, I have sent more soldiers your way to act as support. Adjust your formation however you need to," Aria looked towards Dallas. "I will leave you in-charge of that."

As the screen went black, Dallas was quick to coordinate with the others. "You heard the boss, let's move people. Make sure you don't leave anything behind because I don't want anyone from our forces splitting off. We will create one huge defensive line."

* * *

"We have company," Andersmith reported as he spun the machine gun around. Three enemy vehicles chased them closely. The Chorus soldier opened fire at the road near their tires hoping to disable them. He managed to nail one in the front wheels and the enemy was derailed out of control. The other two however showed that they would not go down so easily. The occupants of the two enemy vehicles leaned out of the windows with a bazooka in their hands. Tucker looked back wide eyed and shouted to Grif. "What are you doing up there, fucking punch it!"

"Hey, driving in this debris isn't easy," Grif complained. "Why don't you try doing this shit?!"

"Watch out!" shouted Sarge as the Bazooka left a trail of smoke behind heading for the front most car. Grif made a sharp right and manage to dodge a direct blow only to be thrown off balance from the explosive force. He quickly stabilized the car and looked to the very back. "Hey, why aren't you guys shooting at that one?!"

"He is too close sir," Andersmith reported and explained. "If I shoot any of the explosives set around the car, we risk blowing up our own."

"Explosives?" Washington looked back wide eyed at the blinking red lights on the hood and the sides of the enemy cars. _They are crazy sons of bitches alright_. He turned back and engaged the radio. Tucker looked towards the grey soldier and asked. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Calling for backup…hopefully."

"Hopefully?!"

"Did someone call for the cavalry?" and just as if someone had heard Wash's cries, a Pelican came descending down towards the road and opened fire. Three missiles opened fire and flew down to its target at the very back. Two missiles hit the sides of the roads creating for large explosions. The final one managed to hit the trunk of the vehicle causing it to catch fire from the back and slowly work its way up towards the front. As the soldiers inside hurried to put it out, they found no amount of effort could stop it. The car at the back derailed off the road with many of the soldier jumping out in time. The final remaining enemy car was however determined. The pilot licked his lips and squinted his eyes at the target reticule. "There you go, come into my view."

He pressed down on the lone button on his joystick and the built-in machine guns fired upon the safe zones of the car. The bullets pierced the top and worked down to the bottom. As the BGC got away from there, the car began leaking oil. The pilot continued firing until eventually the oil caught fire and exploded the car. The screams of agony, of those alive and on fire haunted the ears of the enemy soldiers on the ground. They stared in horror with one even trying to reach out. But he was quickly stopped by his more level headed comrade. "Do you want to go in there and die as well?!"

The pilot left them to mourn and spread such discouragement. Washington looked up at the pilot and waved gracefully. "Thanks for the help."

"No need to mention it Agent Washington."

"Okay, back to the original plan now right?" Simmons looked to those in his car. Tucker waited for a response before saying. "I guess so."

Tucker jolted back and forth in his seat as he glared at Simmons. "Dude, what gives?"

Simmons stared at the front vehicle and saw Grif exiting the car. The orange soldier rested his palm against the blockade and kicked it hard, so much so that he went hobbling back to the side of his car. "Ow, fuck!"

Washington approached the concrete debris and noticed the small man sized hole in the blockade. _They had the time to set this up?_ He looked back and shook his head. "We are going to have to go on foot."

As they crossed the blockade one by one, they quickly found that the resistance would be fiercer here. From both sides to their front, enemy soldiers stood up with trained weapons on them. _So much for a smooth ride_ , Wash ran for cover as did the rest. Donut took out a handful of grenades and smirked menacingly underneath his helmet. "Well, let's play catch!"

He stood up throwing every grenade one by one, at lightning fast speeds. "You get a grenade, you get one, and you get one! Everyone gets a grenade!"

"And I'm going to help everyone!" Caboose declared standing out in the open space and firing his rifle randomly.

* * *

The father and the young son looked outside from the safe confines of the shelter. They felt the tremors of a nearby explosion. Heard its echoes pierce their ears with a terrifying and thunderous noise. They saw the orange glow of the rising fire embers wave in the wind. With every explosion, murmurs of their safety grew and died down. This explosion was different however. This explosion was closer than the rest. The enemy was closing the distance. The son looked up to his father worriedly as he tugged at the man's jeans. The father bent down with a deceptively reassuring smile. "I'm sure things will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you."

The father then heard the propulsion sounds of several Pelicans descending from the skies. He noticed the American flag drawn onto the tail end. The father felt a glimmer of hope. _The American army is finally here!_ He held his son close and repeated the words. "Things will be just fine son, I'm sure of it."

The Pelicans landed with every ship bearing a loud microphone. One of the soldiers from each ship exited with the device and prepped it for usage. "Attention all combatants, we request that you all stand down. You have nothing to gain by continuing this war. We know you no longer have the bombs. Let's avoid fighting any further, stand down!"

As the words finished, the firing had stopped at the piqued interest of many. The silence grew throughout the streets until all that there were the stares of the many. However it was becoming increasingly clear to the Cradle of Hope soldiers that the army was here to do nothing more than to disperse the fighting, not discuss any terms or conditions that could play in their favor. One raised their weapon and opened fire getting the drop on a squad of reds and the blues.

"Who fired that?!" one of the military personnel asked. But before he could get a response, he was met with the loud banging noises of several guns. "Stop this, stop this at once! Cease fire, cease fire!"

The announcers throughout the various streets looked powerlessly at the war. Their shoulders fell as did the device to amplify their voices. The various leaders of the military observed the situation from the comforts of the main base. One such leader cleared his throat and moved his finger along a clear cut route they could easily overtake. "A message to all our soldiers, join the fight and don't hold back."

Every military soldier ran into the fight screaming like warriors. They raised their rifles and took aim. With the click of a trigger, the guns opened fire mowing down many in the process. Amidst all this, they ensured the safety of the cops and the reds and the blues. The three sides united together to face the threat. The father in the shelter building hugged the boy closely. "It will be alright, they will protect us."

* * *

Siris looked to the military soldiers fighting by his side and requested that the commander be connected to him. He quickly expressed his gratitude to the military for taking action. "I believe it would be beneficial to both of us if we were to collaborate together Captain."

"And you are?"

"My name is Siris. I am the leader of the covert government organization known as the ATSG established to specifically combat the Cradle of Hope and the terror it poses."

"A covert organization, that's news to even us. I was sure the military would know all that there was to know regarding organizations related to the government."

"Believe me Captain, there is a great deal not disclosed even to the military," Siris explained as he spotted a few enemies to the northwest of them. He marked them on their maps and sent a squad of soldiers to take care of it. "So, will you help aid us in this battle against the terrorists?"

"Seeing as how we fight to protect the people, I would wager we will," said the Captain with an agreeable look. "Anything we should know?"

"The soldiers colored in red and blue, as well as some variation of colors fashioning the UNSC armor are allies. The cops have come out to fight as well. Please do not open fire on them, and be sure to give the reds and the blues room when fighting. They are a…strange bunch in their fighting methods."

"Well then, here is hoping to a successful operation," the captain nodded his head and raised a hand as if to make a toast. Siris replied with an agreeable nod of his own and with a slightly low voice he said. "It's unfortunate though that we could not stop the escalation. So many lives have been lost so far."

"And more will be if we don't start making progress."

Siris looked up at the transmission display and shaken out of his trance, he was finally getting a strong holding on his surrounding again. "Yes, of course."

He rested against the rough debris and took out his sniper rifle. With ease, he eliminated many who stood in their way, tried to flank them or get the jump on his soldiers. He expertly shot down the enemy soldiers in his line of view without fail. However this kill streak was about to end, he received an ear piercing static from the ear piece much to his frustration. "Sir, we have enemy soldiers flanking from our back!"

"I want one third of the troops here to go and ward off the flankers!" Siris retreated into the shadows into the general direction of the flankers. He saw the numbers and took out his knife. _This should be interesting_. Moving from target to target, from the shadows he assassinated them as quietly as he could. Should some be away from him in open light, he would use diversion tactics such as throwing a rock. As the unknowing targets would come closer, he would jump out and drag their fearful hearts into the shadows with him. One by one with the help from the ATSG soldiers, he managed to eliminate the flankers.

* * *

In the dark dingy underground sewer system, Alex of the trio led the group until they came upon a promising exit. He looked at the trace display and looked straight ahead. "We are getting close now."

"Wait, hold on," Chloe stopped the two locking her arms with theirs and crouched them down. Alex saw her focus her hearing and asked. "What is it?"

"Shh!"

Chloe could hear a faint but a familiar sound. _There is no doubt about it_. She took her left hand and motioned her two fingers in a walking animation. "I hear footsteps up ahead, several in fact."

"Okay, stay here," Alex gently started moving forward and poked his head out of the exit. In the wide open area where several dry tunnels connected to, he saw the room filled with guards to the brim. _Uh oh_ , he quickly hurried back while minimizing his noises. "So we have trouble."

"Don't we always?" Carolina replied snarky and fed up with their rotten luck. Alex in his hurry failed to properly memorize enemy positioning, however he did his best to mark them on their maps. "As you can see, there is a huge group of soldiers in our way between the trace and Aria. We can always fight them, but then we would be making things extremely difficult."

"Or we could sneak past them," Carolina suggested as Chloe shook her head. "That option isn't any easier either and it will take more time to fulfill as well."

She let out a heavy sigh and stood up. _I was hoping things wouldn't come to this_. She stretched her arms and smiled widely. "Looks like I will have to go play catch with them."

"What? No, no, no, you are staying right here," Alex forced her back down. "Before when we did it, there weren't as many people to distract as there are today. Every odd will be stacked against you."

Chloe gently held his hands in her smooth palms and smiled. "Thank you for your concern, it honestly makes me happy. But even you should know that I have a knack for outrunning my foes."

"But-"

"Alex, I came with the intention of helping you get to your sister so that you may finally find the answer to your family problem."

"I know," Alex leaned closer with a determined expression. "But that doesn't mean that I will risk losing you over it!"

Carolina on the lookout heard the noises become louder. She gently pushed Alex on his arm and motioned with her finger towards the exit. "The footsteps seem to be getting louder."

He gritted his teeth and broke off her embrace of his hands. Alex gripped her arms in his and refused to let go. "We can sneak past them."

Chloe smiled amused at the level of stubbornness he showed. _You are quite similar to Siris in this regard_. She easily broke off his grip much to his surprise. It was partly no doubt due to the hours she put in into the gym. "You can stop with the tough guy act now just so that I don't have to go out there by myself. Even I know when you worry about these sorts of things, and how your body reacts."

She turned around to leave but was stopped by his grip to her wrist. "You really are determined."

She turned back and pinched a nerve on his arm. Much to the surprise of her comrades, the arm went numb and weakened. She took out her rifle and checked the magazine. "I hope you find what you are looking for Alex. Carolina stay close to him, and please make sure that both of you remain safe."

She moved towards the exit and looked at the helplessness in his eyes. She could tell the powerlessness he felt. With a comforting smile, she looked at him content with the decision she has made. "You know truth be told I had hoped to hear your answer to my confession before the fighting had started. But I guess it isn't meant to be right now, so until we get to see one another again…bye-bye."

Alex stood up and chased after her only to be halted quickly by Carolina. She shook her head describing the dangers of both of them heading out like this. "Respect her choice Alex as she is doing this mostly for you."

With loud footsteps she ran out. Loud whistles alerted the enemy soldiers who pointed their guns at her. She began running and the chase started. "Catch me if you can!"

* * *

As the BGC trekked further into the long pathway, they found the resistance from the enemy lessened. Aside from a few minor injuries, nothing that Doc wasn't able to help fix up, they were faced with four splitting pathways. Sarge looked to his right where Theta appeared on his skateboard zooming around his head. "Do you have any information for me?"

"Hold on Sarge!" Theta coordinated with their logical core Delta. "Hmm, it looks like while the path splits up, it will meet back up later down the line. I will mark it up on your maps."

"Thanks and good work Theta!"

"You are welcomed!"

Washington stood in front of the rest and stored the gun on his back. "So, we will need to split up. Dammit, I don't like the idea of doing so but it's time we put our squad formations to use people!"

"I never got put into a squad," Doc raised a hand with everyone rubbing their chin in thought. Sarge then suggested that he go with their squad. O'Malley took out the rocket launcher with a most maniacal laugh. "Let the fireworks begin."

Amidst the rubble, the smell of smoke, dusted down concrete and sharp jagged metal on the four paths, walked the BGC and their squads in a single file line. They all understood the dangers of making it so, but the thin paths afforded them no other choice. The one at the very front acted as their scout, and the ones at their very back acted as their bodyguards. It wasn't long however before the paths became wider and eventually met an exit to a large field. The reds and the blues stopped in their tracks with their mouths dropped open. _We are supposed to fight this?_ They wondered gazing upon the immense number of troops. On a rock behind every enemy army stood the generals, some gave them a cocky look, others gave one to incite fear, one was neutral and the other could not be bothered to emote much of her feelings aside from laziness.

Simmons and Tucker looked at Kai's army with their arms shaking. Tucker looked back weakly raising an arm. "So, go team go, right?"

"We are fucked," noted Simmons quickly earning a glare from his co-leader. "Dude, I was trying to get their morale up."

"Yeah, but no point in sugar coating it."

"I promise to make it quick for you lot," shouted Kai upon noticing the aura of fear around his opponents. Kabira stretched her body from side to side, reached down for her toes and cracked the muscles in her neck. She pointed a finger at Sarge and Washington and said. "Only the strong survive. Anyone outside of the organization, people not strong enough to embrace our ideals are weaklings begging to be eradicated."

Irene stretched her arms and stood up from the giant hard rock that acted as her very uncomfortable makeshift bed. She tapped her mouth while yawning loudly and blinked her eyes several times with slumped shoulders. Caboose and Donut looked at one another and then to Lopez in confusion. She rested her hands on her sides and pivoted her hip from side to side. "I hope you can provide me with some interesting entertainment while you are here."

Dallas stood strong with his hands held together behind his back. His stern expression stared at the leader of the red and blue squads walking towards his. The orange soldier stopped alongside Matthews and Bitters. The three looked up at the bearded man. He closed shut his eyes and took in a gentle deep breath. "Coming here was a big mistake. You can still correct it by turning back."

He stepped forward with arms wide open. "No more blood will need to be spilled."

He pointed behind Grif's squad. "Just go back the way you came, both sides have suffered enough already don't you think? There is no point in continuing this conflict. We only want the best for the world after all."

"Yeah, because those who want the best turn the world into something like this," Bitters pointed to the many destroyed buildings. Dallas shook his head and answered. "People may label us as terrorists, in fact they already have. But what we want is best for everyone in the long-term. Short-term will be bad, but things only get better when they get worse. We will be in full control to help change things for the better of everyone."

"Would you listen to this bullshit?" Grif asked stepping forward with his rifle reloaded. Matthews agreed with a shake. "Even my motivational speeches aren't this much of a drag. Come on team, let's do this!"

 _If you choose to stand against me, then fine_. Dallas reached for his helmet and snugly fit into it. _I will become the one to dirty my hands with your bloods, for the sake of Cradle of Hope, and the world_.

* * *

In the underground sewer system, Carolina and Alex were now past the room of trouble. He led her at a moderate pace throughout the tunnels until they eventually reached nearby their destination.

"The signal is the strongest here," Alex said in a mellow voice. Carolina stopped a few steps ahead of him and rested her hand on the wall blocking his way. "Okay, I know what's bugging you but we are close to what we came here for. I need you to have your head on straight yea?"

"I wonder if we will see her again."

"We will," she rested a hand on his shoulder and patted him on the back. "The target waits, we can't stay here for long."

"Y- Yeah you are right, sorry."

The two rested their bodies against the wall as Alex peeked around a corner. There were three guards who blocked their way guarding a metal door. She must be beyond that. Alex prepared his gauntlets and nodded towards Carolina. The two rushed out into the small room. Alex stabbed one repeatedly as Carolina broke the leg and arm of another. The third soldier drew his weapons and nearly opened fire. He was however quickly stopped by both Alex and Carolina punching him in his gut. The two alive guards lied rolling around in pain on the ground.

Aria was not deaf to such noises as she stared towards the metal door with a grin. _It seems like things will finally get interesting_. She stood up and took hold of her helmet just as the door began to rattle. She tightened it around her head and reached for the panel on her left forearm. Carolina kicked open the door just as Aria pressed the nano-injector button. Carolina and Alex stopped in their tracks to see Aria stand so boldly. _So you are finally here my sweet little brother_. She stepped around the desk and cracked her knuckles.

"Sister," he announced letting down the hood on his armor. She looked to his right and saw Carolina tremble. "Do I frighten you Agent Carolina, or perhaps you are remembering the time we spent together in my base?"

"Which one do you think?" The ex-Freelancer answered with every fibre of her being shaking with anger. Aria smirked underneath the helmet and sarcastically said. "I didn't know you missed me that much, because I certainly have missed you."

* * *

 **A/N: Now that we have met our opponents, the next chapter shall begin their epic showdown, I hope you look forward to it!**

 **Constructive feedback/criticism is always appreciated!**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read and support the story! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	18. Scuffle

**Chapter 17: Scuffle**

Siris ran through the debris upon defeating a squadron of enemy soldiers with the help of a few allies. He looked around at the situation and studied the amount of damage their fighting had bore on the people of the city. Everywhere he looked, he would find buildings with cracks, pieces falling out or completely crumbled. _This is terrible_. He looked to a few of his allies and said. "You are going with me. We are going to back up Alex in apprehending Aria. I want to end this quickly!"

As they all ran for the manhole Alex last indicated as the entry way, they found themselves in an ominously quiet open area. He motioned towards the open manhole. "Alright, we will go in one by one. The first person to go in scouts the area and ensures it is safe for the rest to follow. Un-"

"Sir, we might have a problem."

"What is it?" Siris stood up clearly tired of the interruptions to their missions. The soldier pointed all around them as they saw the rising enemy from the ruined buildings. _Oh shit_ , Siris readied his weapons and ordered the rest to do the same. They were boxed in, a situation completely playing against their favor. Initially they managed to hold their ground as the sounds of the guns went off. The smell of hot bullet casing left a sickening trail in the air, and the rising debris and dust made things harder for both sides. Siris motioned for the heavy gun and sniper rifle users to begin pushing aggressively. "Take them out now!"

"Grenade Launchers!" shouted one of the allied soldiers as they jumped away from their cover and into the other. Siris' eyes widened as he saw several grenades land all around them. In unison they blew up like a firework display of death. From the explosive impact, the allied soldiers were blown back and fell on the ground whimpering with agony. The mere impact of the explosion was enough to break the ribs and bones of those not adequately protected for such situations. As more grenades exploded, body parts started flying around and blood sprayed leaving the ground painted in crimson as if it were a canvas. One by one, they all died until only Siris was left alive huddled beneath a few bodies of his deceased comrades. His whole body shook at the prospect of death. _I have to get back to her_. Another explosion, one that was enough to catch one of his friend's bodies on fire prompted him to crawl away. _I can't die here. I have to get back to my daughter!_

As the explosions stopped, Siris stood up and began an unusual limp. He stared down at his prosthetic foot and found several cracks as well as slight malfunctions on there. The bruises on his body ached like a sharp thorn piercing the most sensitive areas of his body. He was out in the open and in clear sight. Realizing his disadvantage, he hobbled over to another piece of cover and reloaded his assault rifle. One of the enemy soldiers aimed their grenade launcher and fired one nearby the cover. Siris comforted by the fact that he would be safe, he failed to realize one key object that put him at an even greater disadvantage. As the grenade exploded, he leaned out of cover and opened fire upon the enemy using the triple magnification sight on the rifle. Just then his nose alerted his mind of a fire. He looked to his right and his eyes widened as he saw a black car on fire. Siris stood up to try and run, but it was too late. The car exploded and threw Siris away down to the ground! His prosthetic leg was completely smashed and unusable now. He studied the condition and cursed his tardiness in failing to take proper care of it in light of recent events.

"Check the bodies. Make sure none are left alive!"

Siris watched the enemy soldiers descend and he quickly crawled away to a man sized hole in the ground. He took some nearby large enough debris and covered it leaving only a crack open.

"Where is that asshole I shot with the grenade launcher by the car?"

"Who knows, probably dead, could be incinerated or blown away. I don't really give a shit."

"Yeah whatever, let's just move on," said the enemy as they left in formation to their next sector. Siris pushed the debris out of the way and with every fiber of his strength he crawled out. He lifted the front part of his body and gritted his teeth at the amount of pain his leg felt from the broken prosthetic's pain feedback system. "Fuck, god dammit."

He brought one arm in close as he could feel sharp bouts of pain. _I'm in real bad shape here._ _I think I broke a couple of bones in my arm_. He lied down on his back and took in a deep breath upon feeling crippled. "If anyone can hear me, this is Siris, I need backup. All of my squad members are KIA. I'm incapacitated with several injuries and a broken prosthetic foot. Please, I need help. Also be careful of the enemy, their soldiers are now using grenade launchers."

* * *

Within the shelter where the father and the son alongside many others looked at the war, they found the military pushing the terrorists back. It seemed as if the added military power helped turn the tides in their favor. Everyone in the building cheered for their saviors, and slammed their destructors. The happiness however quickly died down as one pointed to a rooftop building where a terrorist stood up with a rocket launcher. Several others followed his example and aimed it down below at the streets. "Remember, no survivors."

They aimed the rockets at the smaller buildings opposite to them and opened fire to bring down hell upon their adversaries. The soldiers were quick to notice however and reacted fast. They took out a flare gun upon identifying the heat seeking rockets. As the rockets became distracted, the soldiers quickly found out some were headed for a shelter when a flare was accidently fired in its direction. The military personnel quickly began shouting for the residents to evacuate. The rockets came with a strong impact as the whole building shook. The outer walls cracked and inside small pieces began to fall apart alongside dust. The father quickly embraced his son and gritted his teeth in wonder. _Is this really it for us now?_

"Everyone, out now!"

As if given the permission for chaos to break lose, everyone rushed outside without a care for one another. Even if one were to get trampled, no one would stop to check. Right now, all that mattered was their self preservation. The father carried his son out safely, however they were some of the unfortunate few to come face to face with the falling debris of their shelter. The father braced his son tightly, so much so that the son found it a little hard to breathe for the impact. A red figure quickly zoomed past them and held a falling rock atop him from harming the civilians. "What are you doing, get outta here!"

The red falls to his knee and grunts in pain. The father looked at the red soldier now screaming in pain. A blue soldier quickly came to his aid and began lifting the rock off of him. He noticed the two civilians and became increasingly frustrated at the lack of self-preservation the father displayed. "What are you waiting for, a god damn taxi? Get out of here already, it's not safe!"

"Ah, t- thank you!" The father turned and ran away but upon hearing more rocket launchers fire, he looked back to his two rescuers. As the blue soldier got the rock off, he assessed the red one's health and gently rubbed his back. The father's eyes widened as the rockets focused on them. The blue soldier looked up in shock and stood over the red soldier as if to shield him. The red one looked back with mouth wide open at death coming for them. As the rockets collided with their bodies, and the very fabric of their suit and skin torr apart, they were blown away. The father looked in horror to find their severed limbs, one still alive screaming in agony only moments before succumbing to the creeping reaper that came to take that soul away. The father ensured his son's face was turned in the opposite direction. He glared up towards the terrorists on the building and silently cursed. _Because of people like you others have died. I will always remember the good people, always_.

"Daddy."

"Right, I'm sorry," he faced his son with a smile and ran away at the first sign of safety.

* * *

Kai stared at the progress Tucker and Simmons' squad made against his mini army. He looked at the coordinated fighters with interest and the growing anticipation at crushing them in the near future. One of the blues pointed in Kai's general direction as they cleared open a pathway. "Go now sirs, we will hold them off here."

"Sweet, you guys are bad asses!" shouted Tucker as he led the way for Simmons and Palomo. Kai smiled and took in a deep breath. _How good it feels to not be held back by anything, to be able to just let go_. He activated the switch on his suit which injected nano-bots into him strengthening his muscles, increased his speed and inflated his ego. As the three stopped in front of him, each taking out their rifles he happily smiled while wearing his helmet. "It seems you lot are not as spineless as I had pegged you all for."

"We can surprise even ourselves sometimes," spoke Tucker with bitter contempt. Simmons checked his weapon and noted. "You would be wise to stand down now, just give up and tell us what your next moves are."

Palomo walked closer with his weapon raised at Kai's head level. "Just cooperate and we can stop this fighting."

"I had said that you are not as spineless as I thought you to be originally," said Kai stopping Palomo in his tracks who took a few steps back. Kai punched his palm and stretched his neck. "But now I will have to make it so."

* * *

Sarge and Washington pushed through the enemy using the pathway their squad soldiers had made for them. Kabira watched from afar as she activated the dormant nano-bots in her suit and wore the helmet. _I finally get to be in the action_. She rotated her arm in circles and felt the muscles grow stronger with every second the nano-bots took effect. Wash and Sarge came face to face with her and raised their guns at her. Washington stepped forward ahead of Sarge. "Give up, you have already lost. This fighting is now pointless."

"I agree," Sarge answered nervously. "Plus, I would never hit a woman."

Kabira scoffed at the red soldier's words. "Then I will just have to change that pussy attitude of yours."

"Reconsider your choice," Washington replied. Kabira laughed loudly. "The only way to obtain something that you want in this world is through power and force. If you really for me to stop, then come stop me or are you too chicken you little boys?"

Wash and Sarge looked to one another and nodded in understanding as Wash whispered. "Alright then, it's your funeral."

* * *

Underground, Aria walked towards Alex and Carolina with her arms tense. Her opponents were on their guard much to her amusement and laughter. She stopped a few steps away from the two who took a step backwards. She shook her head and with great speed she closed in on them, bent downwards and delivered a strong punch to the sides of their knee!

She stood up and watched the two hobble about against the wall. She crossed her arms and scoffed. "Really now, that wasn't even half my strength. If you two begin to start limping already, then this won't be any fun."

 _Be careful Sis, that suit is feeding her with additional abilities_ , stated Church. Carolina gritted her teeth to suck up the pain and punched the wall. _I have noticed_. Church appeared between his two allies and stated. "We are at a disadvantage here. We need an open area to fight in."

"Oh my," Aria rested her palm against her face. "What a cute AI we have here. I will be sure to take it as a trophy once I have killed you both."

Aria activated her superior speed and pushed Alex to the side. She punched Carolina to the face out of pure contempt and pushed her down to the ground. "Keep up if you can, I know a pretty good spot for us to fight in!"

"She is really getting on my nerves," said Carolina standing up with Alex's help. Church snickered and asked. "When has she not?"

"Can we even catch up to her like this?" asked Alex. Carolina looked at the young assassin with a smirk. "Maybe not you, but with my speed unit I should be fine."

"Oh thanks for playing as a team there."

"Actually," Carolina looked to Church who looked away with a less so enthusiastic voice. "I don't think I will have enough energy for the other modules if you use your speed module now."

"Looks like we are stuck together then," claimed Alex with a sense of victory. "Plus, granted the tracer doesn't smoke out, we will have a trail to follow."

* * *

Irene watched with lazy eyes as Donut, Caboose and Lopez pushed forward. Her soldiers quickly began to feel the creeping feeling of defeat loom over their shoulders. Irene stood up a little wobbly and yawned with the stretch of her arms. She activated her communication transmitter to all her soldiers and ordered. "Start bombarding them with your grenades."

As the grenades started raining, the reds and the blues ran for cover. The explosions were of no serious consequence to them as the impact was absorbed by their armor's shields. Irene squinted her eyes at this and gently tapped her hair. _Hmm, this is like a puzzle just begging to be solved. What can I do?_ But just then an idea struck her. _I guess I will play an aggressive tactic like Kabira here_. She ordered for her troops to surround the enemy. "Box them in, and create a perimeter around them."

Sherry and Ohio observed the situation and with visible support from the rest of the gang, the two ladies pushed their leaders towards Irene. "Go, we will handle things here."

"Go before they close it off!" shouted Ohio. Iowa gave a thumb up to Caboose and said. "You can do it!"

Donut looked back with gratitude as he tugged Caboose along by the arms. Lopez ran up behind them and managed to break through just as they were about to close the perimeter off. The ex-freelancer and Charon soldiers watched the three disappear into the distance with a small chuckle. _We have done some crazy stuff before but this has got to be the craziest_. Terrill looked at the rest and asked. "So, how much ammo do we have to deal with this?"

"Not enough, that much I'm sure of," Idaho replied checking his clip and reloading the assault rifle. Darryl looked from Idaho to their enemies and with evident sarcasm he spoke. "Lovely."

"But we will still try," said Idaho and the others agreed. Iowa also added his strong belief in their friends. "I know Caboose and the rest can take down their leader here. I also know that we can take these soldiers down because we are the good guys!"

"It's a shame though," said Terrill getting everyone's attention. "We could all have been sharing a nice cool drink right now if they were willing to stop fighting."

"Sometimes there is just no helping people bro," said Darryl. All of them ran for cover as the firing began. Ohio and Sherry could feel the impact their cover suffered from the already broken state meeting the bullets head on. The debris vibrated until they saw a bullet pierce through. Sherry pushed Ohio away. "Run to another piece of cover!"

Sherry got up and fired her rifle nailing a few targets. She jumped up in the air and landed on her stomach near Idaho. She crawled over until safely behind cover and reloaded her gun. _Stay safe out there babe_ , she thought eyeing Ohio.

* * *

Having Broken through Dallas' army, Grif, Bitters and Matthews ran for Dallas who easily avoided them all, tripped them down to the ground and took several steps back. With a few grunts the Chorus soldiers and Grif picked themselves up again. They wiped their visors clean of the dirt and gritted their teeth. Dallas activated a button on his suit and argued. "You have made a foolish choice. I'm more powerful and stronger than you three."

"Arrogance is not a good trait bro," said Bitters. Dallas laughed while putting on his helmet. "I'm not arrogant, just confident."

"More like over condiment," Matthews replied holding out his hand to which Grif gave a high five to. "Got him!"

Grif reloaded his weapon and passed around an extra clip to his co-leaders. _I may be useless but even I can have these moments to shine such as not forgetting the extra ammo once in a while, because I'm such a badass!_

* * *

Aria came face to face with a silent wall that stared at her blankly. She looked back to her left and smirked. "I see you two have finally made it here."

She watched the two tiredly hobble their way inside. "You can't tire yourselves out. We are just getting started after all."

Alex caught his breath and glared up towards her. Aria gave a sarcastically scared motion with her hands. "Please, your glare terrifies me so."

"Why did you choose to change so much, sister?"

"It's not like I had the choice to begin with. I was molded into this since birth," she took in a deep breath and recalled the vivid memory of a beautiful playground, the blue skies and a relaxingly breezy day. "Do you recall any of our family picnics Alex?"

He remained silent to the query. She eyed him from behind the visor quite saddened at the silence. "Well, I remember quite a bit. You would probably remember it through rose colored glasses I'm guessing, where happiness is available in abundance and all was right in the world. The clichéd yet truly simple world view we as little kids tend to have."

Carolina felt growing contempt for every moment she spent looking at Aria. The pain she experienced was reminded to her. She looked down at her missing finger, a detail Aria took special note of. "I remember those memories with extreme precision. I remember the scornful faces of our parents hidden behind those superficial smiles. They tried so hard to atone for their guilt perhaps through you for all the things they did and continued doing to me. I wonder if they ever showed you love out of an instinct to nurture you or to just make themselves feel better."

She turned to face him and stared solely at him now. Everything else in her view was slowly blurred out of sight until only he remained. "Ever since you were born, I have always loved you. As a sister I wanted to protect that little vulnerable brother. But at the same time I grew to hate you because it was only you receiving the special treatment. It was only you getting those loving looks from our parents. But now that our family is broken apart, and since nothing is left, no one to punish me for saying these things, it grants me the opportunity to voice my thoughts freely."

"Did you feel the same when it was only the two of us, struggling everyday to survive?" asked Alex finally receptive to her comments. Aria looked at her hands with a soft whisper. "When it was just the two of us…you were a liability to my survival. I wanted to kill you in your sleep so many bloody times that it sometimes drove me crazy for not doing so!"

She balled her hands into fists and stepped forward. "But now I finally can."

Carolina took a stance against her between the young man and Aria. The enemy leader was amused and strangely enough moved. "Aw, isn't that sweet that you want to protect Alex. But you made one big mistake bitch, I won't allow anyone to come in between our family matters!"

She began running towards Carolina who crossed her arms in front of her and gritted her teeth. As Aria neared, she raised her hand and swung for strong impact. Carolina slid back a few meters and only stopped with Alex's help. He told her to never go in alone again. She took his advice to heart and the two braced for another impact. Aria jumped in the air, rotated her leg and kicked the side of Carolina's helmet until she went tumbling down to the ground. Alex blocked his sister's punch and ducked beneath her roundhouse kick. He felt himself lose his balance upon standing back up and receiving a small blow to the chest. He was cornered against the wall and felt his jaw swing from her fist. She watched at the two grovel on the ground and noted. "Let's finish what our parents started with our family Alex."

* * *

 **A/N: A shorter chapter this time around. The combat oriented ones will get short(er) now as this is all about the fighting and leading to the conclusion leading. Mind you there will still be some dialogues and twists and turns to hopefully keep things interesting.**

 **Constructive feedback/criticism is always welcomed! :)**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support the story.**

 **~ Monty**


	19. Goodbye

**Chapter 18: Goodbye**

Tucker, Simmons and Palomo engaged Kai in battle. Palomo swung wide and was pushed away to the side. Simmons came in from the back and tackled Kai on his torso. The General with a grunt held Simmons' chin and flipped him over until the maroon solder went tumbling down to the ground. Tucker bent down and punched Kai in the stomach. He looked up to see the unmoved soldier glaring down at him through his visor. Kai took Tucker's arm in his hand and almost snapped it like a twig before Palomo intervened. Palomo brought Kai down to the ground and before he could land a blow, he was stopped by Kai and kicked away. "You are getting very annoying now you pest."

"Yo, Sigs," Tucker slowly sat up rubbing the back of his helmet. "I could use some help here."

"Have you tried kicking him Captain Tucker?"

"Oh that's very funny haha," Tucker answered sarcastically as he stood up and slowly began stumbling forwards. "Now I need serious suggestions."

Simmons stopped Tucker and suggested. "Eta is proposing that we attack him from a distance."

"Better than getting my ass kicked every two seconds," Tucker retrieved his assault rifle and quickly hid behind cover. He peeked outwards and opened fire. Kai having heard the gun shots reacted quickly with his super speed and closed the distance between himself and Simmons who in his panic fired in all random directions. Kai gripped the edge of the gun, bent the barrel upwards and elbowed Simmons in the chest. Palomo launched a grenade towards the General and with force the ball exploded leaving fire remnants. Out of the fire, Kai reached out and gripped Palomo's visor in his hand. "You annoying bug."

As Tucker opened fire upon obtaining a clear shot, he was quickly stopped with Kai threatening Palomo. The Chorus soldier became a live meat shield for the General. Tucker silently cursed under his breath and slowly moved closer in circles around Kai. He followed the aqua soldier's gaze without fail and upon feeling the perfect opportunity he pushed Palomo towards Tucker disorientating the two and tackled them both down to the ground. He quickly proceeded to kick them both in the ribs nearly breaking a few in the process. Even their fragments could not help them face up to this monstrous human. Kai eyed Palomo who stood up glaring towards him. Every fiber of his body ached with the realization that he was weaker than Kai. But still, he knew that he had to stand up and fight for it was the right thing to do, and it was why he was here. Kai looked without emotions before declaring. "You are an annoyance, in fact all of you are."

Kai stopped a kick from Palomo midway, and swung down hard on his thigh easily breaking the bone inside. With a moderately audible squeal, Palomo fell to the ground and gripped his leg in agony. He turned over and began to crawl away. Kai watched his opponent's suffering with an amused smile as he picked up a rock. Slithering it through his hands until the sharp jagged end was pointing forwards. He paced forwards and kicked Palomo down. _Disappear_. Kai swung down the rock, but before it could make contact he was interrupted by Tucker and his many sword swings!

"I won't let you kill him!" shouted Tucker as he swung diligently and with a rather refined form. Kai raised his arms to protect himself but quickly found that the sword is able to cut through with ease. After a long hard fought struggle, Kai found the painful stinging sensation of several cuts throughout his body to be mind breaking. He rolled out of the way of another swing and hit the nano-bots injection button. Nothing happened. _What is going on?_ He hit the button repeatedly and nothing happened. _Oh no, the suit is too damaged. The nano-bot injection tubes are fucked_. Kai swung wide and managed to hit Tucker who swung back around and made a hollow cut on Kai's helmet. With every swing his strength now began to waiver and his once buffed up form begins to return to normal. The nano-bots within him all become ineffective and are eventually deteriorated. However due to his base training with General Creed, he still manages to hold his own against Tucker. Simmons watched the fight from afar and gripped his assault rifle on the ground. "It's because of people like you that so many have had to die. People who are brash and power hungry should never be allowed in powers of position."

Simmons opened fire as Tucker retrieved. Kai's armor managed to block the bullets as he bent down to punch Simmons heavily in the guts. Simmons felt his whole body shake and go numb. His grip loosened on his weapon as he fell to his knees. Kai kicked Simmons over on his back and sat atop him. He raised a fist filled with pure and raw strength. "I honestly don't give a shit about what my enemies think about me. The only thing I care about is the rush I get from beating down my opponents!"

He swung down punching Simmons' helmet from one side to the other and eventually moved on to the visor. As the hits clinked and clanged, the orange visor began to crack up. With another punch, the visor cracked to the lower most layer and left a deep scar as well as a distorted vision. Tucker moved from cover to cover to get the jump on him while keeping a keen eye on the developing situation with help from Sigma. _Just hold on a little longer dude_. Kai looked to his side where he observed a sharp, almost knife like shaped metal debris. He aimed it at the center of the visor scar and started swinging. Tucker ran out of the cover and tackled him away hearing a visibly annoyed grunt from the general. "God damn interruptions, just let me have my fun for once!"

Tucker drew his sword and started swinging. With a perfect form he drove Kai backwards and with every swing that made contact, he was left distraught at the losing situation. Kai jumped back while holding his one arm now bleeding quite heavily from all the cuts. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath with a deadly glare at Tucker. The aqua blue soldier on the other hand however brushed some dust off his shoulder armor and asked. "So where is all that douche bag confidence now?"

"Fuck you!" Kai lunged forwards but was knocked back with Tucker bending down to avoid his punch, pushing himself forward and hitting Kai in the stomach with his shoulder. He swung several times and with each swing Kai lost ground. Eventually he was out of room to maneuver in and fell. Tucker reached out in an effort to stop it. "Grab hold!"

But his pride would not let him do so. He looked away down towards the ground. The chance at survival was now perhaps gone forever and as he fell, he hoped that only a world of raining hellfire awaited those who did not believe in their cause. He landed hard against a few metal rods sticking out from a broken building. His whole body clenched at the piercing pain that went straight through his heart!

"Gahh!" Kai felt his heart struggling to pump. Tucker looked away unable to bear the sight. This was not how it was supposed to go. He could not believe that this was the death he was presented with. He hoped for a quick death, not this slow painful demise. Perhaps it was karma catching up to him for all his actions in life, or perhaps it was just meant to be. To him however, to the very last breath he continued to deny that this turn of events was reality. To the very last thing he saw, he continued to question just how he could have been beaten by a group of jokers. Tucker looked over the edge just as the agonizing breathing and grunts stopped. Kai's body was completely lifeless, no signs of movements or vitals from what he could see. He stood up and walked towards Palomo. He bent down to check his friend's condition and breathed a sigh of relief at a stable pulse.

Upon hearing the noises of a nearby explosion, Tucker stood up to observe the ongoing battle between his squad and Kai's soldiers. He looked to Sigma who activated the mouth speaker as well as accessed all available radio frequencies. "Attention assholes, your General is dead and now you better give up or else I will raise hell on your sorry asses like the badass warrior I am!"

The gunfire died down. The Cradle of Hope soldiers looked at one another clearly distraught at the event. One by one, as if a chain reaction they all took out grenades from their belt pouch and held them up in the air. "We will destroy our enemies to our last dying breath!"

They all ran towards the reds and the blues who opened fire. The enemy soldiers activated the grenades and held them tightly, until some were shot and brought down for good. However several broke through the defense lines and invaded the other reds and blues. As if on time, the grenades went off one by one and in a kamikaze attack they took those around with them to the afterlife. Tucker watched in horror, completely speechless. Simmons used all his strength to crawl over by Tucker's side and used his body as a support to pick himself up with Tucker's help. The two men looked at the explosions, fiery embers and the rising smoke. Simmons felt his head shake from the absurdity of the situation. "They are all insane, a bunch of lunatics…"

"Yeah…"

"But they were conditioned into believing this way," Simmons added with a somewhat sympathetic voice. "They believed in the wrong people who gave them false hope, and in the end those people even asked these men and women to kill themselves."

Tucker gently sat Simmons down and activated the speaker in his mouthpiece again. "I want some of you guys to check for casualties, any usable gear we can take and then take a breather everyone. We will rest for a bit, once we are ready we will move out again to provide support to the other groups!"

* * *

In another area where the troops under General Kabira fought, she stood face to face with Sarge and Washington. The ex-freelancer drew his sword and glared towards the general who shrugged it off with a sarcastic remark. "Oh, your glare scares me so, please stop it."

"Um, just so you know Wash," Sarge mumbled giving sideways glances. "I'm uh, I'm probably not going to be of much help here."

"Gee, I hadn't noticed," said the grey soldier who slowly lessened the distance between himself and Kabira. She walked with immense confidence and a sense of dominance in her abilities over theirs. Kabira eyed the sword and with a smirk started running towards Wash. As he swung wide, she slid down to the floor avoiding the swing and took hold of his leg throwing him off balance. Sarge looked at the General standing up and went to help Wash. But he was stopped in his tracks and met with a barrage of fists from Kabira. He managed to block many but a few got through to his stomach and one to his groin sending his aging body into a spasm of pain. She bent down again and interjected her hands between Sarge's helmet and arms. She spread his arms apart and punched his visor. "Just to let you know, I don't mind if you choose not to fight back. It makes it easier for me to wipe the floor with you incompetent idiots."

Washington stood up and came in swinging hard. Kabira dodged every swing and took his sword holding arm in one hand and twisted it backwards. She kicked the back of his knee until he was on the ground and applied pressure to the sword wielding arm until it loosened the alien object. As the sword fell, she picked it up with curiosity. "This would serve better in the hands of those more capable than an aging freelancer."

She looked for a button to the sword but found no such thing. _How did he turn it on?_ Washington smirked and stood up. "Having trouble? Don't worry. It happens sometimes to all of us. I mean, not me but you know."

In her frustration with the sword, she threw it to the side away from his reach. "Then let's make it an even playing field for us all."

"Says the woman using enhanced strength and speed," Sarge noted getting a devious stare from her. He quickly withdrew the previous statement before she came in and repeatedly punched him in his visor. Washington tackled her away and held Sarge still to study his condition. "So Sarge, still feel like not hitting her?"

"To be fair, I think I want to run away now," he answered drawing his shotgun, and Washington drew his assault rifle. "But running away won't solve anything."

"I guess that would be right, well I will make an exception this one time to my rule of not hitting a woman."

Kabira got up with a chuckle and noted. "Oh how honored I feel to have you make an exception for me almighty Red leader. I sure am looking forward to whatever fight you can put up."

* * *

In the underground system, Aria dominated with an upper hand against her two opponents. Unlike before, she used her abilities to their maximum now. Carolina swung for Aria who stopped the hit with a tight grip on her arm and punched her with the back of her fist on her chest. Everyone in the room could hear audible and brutal cracks of Carolina's ribs. The female soldier fell to the ground with a loud scream. Church materialized beside her. "Don't get so impatient."

Aria smirked as she walked towards Carolina in particular. Church looked back and forth from the two ladies and urged for his host to strengthen up. "Come on sis, get up!"

Alex intervened and managed to land a firm blow to Aria's stomach. But even that was not enough to budge her as she stood like a machine out on a mission to terminate its one particular target. Aria took Alex's hands in hers and swung him over her shoulders. With a loud thud he landed on the ground against his back. She looked back at the ex-freelancer who slowly stood up with heavy gasps. Aria nodded her head and claimed. "Good, good, keep on standing up. Stand up as many times I beat you down so eventually I can break you and then finally put you out of your misery as you are begging for a release."

As Aria rushed towards Carolina, she was once again interrupted by Alex who stood strong against her overpowering aura. She dodged his punch but met the other in the visor as a surprise attack. He kneed her in the chest and watched her fall back. Aria could not help but glare at him as much as her helmet would allow from her slightly obstructed vision. _So you are taking this seriously now. I suppose I should take you seriously as well_. She stood up and used her superior speed against him. Unable to effectively follow her movements, he found himself on the back end of her palm and knocked down to the ground. Aria paid attention as Carolina remained standing up with some struggle. She moved fast and punched Carolina in the guts. Aria took hold of her by her visor and smashed the back of her helmet against a wall and watched her body slowly fall down. Church pixilated beside her. "Applying healing unit, Alex this is bad."

"Tell me something that's not new!" Alex complained dodging several of her punches and throwing a strong few of his own in return. She blocked his arms, twisted them back and punched his nose with a loud crack. Blood spilled out from the nostrils sending an eerie feeling through his body. He watched the dripping blood and studied the overall condition of the nose. He groaned in pain gently caressing the affected area.

* * *

As Irene's soldiers fought in the background, she jumped back and forth in her spot while faced with three adversaries. She studied their posture and easily deduced their threat level. _So the pink one will fight like a little girl, the blue one will be swinging like a boy with a temper tantrum and the Spanish speaking robot will be doing its Spanish thing_. Caboose drew his sword and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Come for I only wish to help!"

"How will you help her Caboose? Maybe give her a nice back rub, or one between the thighs. That won't be too inappropriate will it?" asked Donut readying a few grenades. Lopez sighed and looked down at the ground noting. "[Maybe if I just stand here, they will all just kill one another and it will be over like a bad dream.]"

 _Okay, never mind, they are all idiots_. Irene rushed in overcoming that laziness and closed in on Donut. She kicked the grenades out of his hands as they rained down in all directions. Thankfully for them none had been activated yet. She kicked Donut in the groin who winced with a loud squeal and hobbled his butt onto the ground and proceeded to roll around with an exaggerated emotion of agony on his face. Caboose came in swinging wild and hard. "Don't worry my deliciously named friend after a snack, Donut. I will help her for you!"

Irene kicked him down and bashed the back of his head in with a random rock. Caboose stood up completely unscathed by the attempt both confusing and surprising her. He looked around with the smile of an eight year old. "Hello, my name is Caboose. I would love to be your friend."

 _Did he lose it or something?_ She pondered, but little did she know, he never had it to begin with. Donut still rolling around while holding his southern region turned towards Lopez and begged. "What are you doing Lopez? We need your superior hombre help here!"

"[Oh, what a pretty sky.]"

"Stop talking about the sky and don't ignore me!"

"[So now you understand me when your life is in danger? I see how it is.]"

"I don't get what you are trying to say here."

"[Oh, what a pretty sky is what I'm trying to say. I don't like messing with angry women. They tend to fuck up your world if you do.]"

"Please Lopez I'm begging you, just help."

Irene laughed at the back and forth skit as Lopez looked everywhere but at the pink soldier. Caboose swung behind her but his actions were ineffective when she dodged him and landed a firm upper cut to his jaw line. Caboose went stumbling back and nearly cried at the pain. "She is being too mean. I don't think I want her as my friend anymore."

"[You can do it, I believe in you]," said Lopez rather sarcastically and followed up with a whisper. "[Please let her gut you, please let her gut the two of you. That way I don't have to feel guilty about doing it myself, and I can tell the truth that the General got them.]"

Caboose shouted like a berserker warrior while bashing his chest like a gorilla. He ran towards Irene and swung many times. All of which were dodged but one swing. That one swing managed to finally cut into her armor. "Please, I only want to help you!"

 _Okay, so he isn't as stupid as he seems or sounds. The little boy actually knows how to fight_ , thought Irene finally taking the threat a little more seriously. She eyed every opponent taking close note of their positioning, the objects between them and their terrain. Little did they know, that thanks to the damage her armor experienced at Caboose's hand, the tactical fighter was about to awaken.

* * *

As Irene's soldiers closed the distance between Ohio's and Sherry's group, they kept up the heavy fire. Ohio looked to Idaho and Iowa and said. "Idaho, cover our left, Iowa help with the right!"

Sherry too ordered the same. "Terrill, cover the left and Darryl you are on the right!"

"There are too many of them!" shouted Andersmith doing his best to keep the situation under his control. As the crew all got to work, they managed to hold the enemy at bay. With their constant shout outs, skilled gun usage and superior team work thanks to Washington's training, they managed to slowly start driving the enemy back. Terrill raised an arm in excitement still a little high from the adrenalin and asked. "Hah ah, how do you like that you jerks?!"

But as he finished, they saw more numbers on the horizon. Idaho quickly began to feel the pressure of their enemy once more. "Just how many of these assholes are there? Do they breed them like rabbits?"

"We take some out and more take their place," Ohio thought out loud with Sherry remarking. "What a brilliant situation we have here eh?"

"I could do with less sarcastic replies please, thank you," answered Darryl as he nailed several bullets into the enemy in his sights. "Reloading!"

"Check your ammo!" ordered Ohio as she quickly found out she was running dry. The case as it seemed was true for many others as well. Idaho's face went pale as he reported. "Panic time, I'm out of assault rifle ammo and only have one magazine left for my pistol."

"Idaho, here," Darryl threw him a pistol magazine of his own surprising the ex-Freelancer. "Dude, are you sure? You may need it later."

"You can pay me back for it with a drink and a nice Italian dinner later," he replied with an aloof tone before realizing that all eyes were on him. "Ahem, no homo."

"So then what, this is like our last stand?" Terrill asked noting the number of rounds in his current magazine. Sherry shook her shoulders displaying her uncertainty. Ohio slapped the back of Sherry's helmet. "Don't be so melodramatic you guys. Nothing is ever set in stone. Just when we thought we would never be able to leave that ice planet, we did. No point in sulking, if you have the energy to be sad then use it for anger towards these bastards."

* * *

As the enemy lessened the distance, Idaho looked around at their battlefield and noticed several craters, some larger than others. He looked at his best friend and motioned for him to follow. The rest looked at the two departing men questionably and even questioned by Terrill. "Yo, where are you guys going?"

Idaho simply waved back and stopped at one of the craters. From the depth he could judge that it would fit his needs perfectly. "Iowa, I need you to look over the edge here real quick. I think I saw something down there before."

"It's not the boogey man is it?"

"Don't know, take a look and find out."

As Iowa peeked over the edge, he found himself being pushed by Idaho deep into its darkness. Wide eyed with shock, he saw Idaho waving with his last few words. "Sorry pal, but if there is anything that I can do for you here, that is to keep you safe. I will be back for you, so stay put till then."

Iowa hit the ground hard and immediately stood up. "But I want to help!"

Before his words could even be heard, Idaho was long gone. Iowa took it upon himself to climb out and prove to them just how much help he could be. He gripped at one of the rocks and began climbing. But as the terrain fought against his attempts, it became extremely clear that he would have a much tougher time than he originally thought. He lost his grip as the rock he held loosened and fell back down with a loud thud. "Agh, dammit!"

The ground shook as tremors vibrated and sent cold shivers down his spine. He looked up at a few rocks loosening and falling downwards. From the sound echo, he knew that the noise was from an explosion. He quickly bent down with his hands over his head as if to protect himself. He looked down with his eyes closed ready to be caved in at any time as the successive explosions felt nearer.

As Idaho returned, his thoughts were directed towards his recent actions. Deep in such thoughts he was met with a firm grip to his shoulders by Ohio to shake him out of his trance. "Idaho, quit spacing out, we need you here in the fight. What happened to Iowa?"

"I…left him in a crater until things blew over."

"Aw so you really are a big softie," Sherry pocked at the side of his helmet with a sly grin. Idaho gently pushed her away and noted with a very serious face. "If there is one thing I can do for him ever, then that would be to protect him no matter what. Right now this is what I want the most."

"I can respect that," answered Terrill with Darryl agreeing. The group looked at just how close the enemy was now. From every side they were surrounded. Terrill lifted his assault rifle with a reminiscent sigh. "I really was hoping to open that bar someday."

"Same here," said Darryl as he spotted his prey. Ohio and Sherry moved a little closer together and let their hands gravitate towards one another's and spoke. "It was an honor having you all as a team, and…a family."

As the two sides prepared, the enemy soldiers took up arms and their opponents closed their eyes taking in a deep breath. Both sides opened fire letting bullet shells fly down to the ground. With a loud clang they fell and creating a symphony until all was then silent.

* * *

On General Dallas' battlefield, Matthews, Bitters and Grif fought him at a distance. They made sure to control their level of fire to avoid burning ammo fast. They hid behind cover when needed as the General threw grenades out and used his pistol occasionally to suppress. Dallas eyed the three and moved from one cover to the next as they were suppressed. Cover by cover, he lessened the distance between his foes and himself until they were within striking distance. He punched Bitters with the back of his fist, used his superior fist and stomped on Grif's chest until he was down with a loud impact on the ground. Matthews intervened to help but quickly found out just how terrifyingly powerful their foe truly was. Dallas shoved Matthews to the side, blocked Grif's kick and threw him off balance. Dallas reacted quickly and bent down dodging Bitters' barrage of punches, stood up and kicked backwards. The three men fell down to the ground leaving the General standing above them.

Dallas eyed Bitters and walked with heavy footsteps towards the Chorus soldier. He took one of Bitters' arms as he tried to defend himself and nearly broke it in half until Grif intervened with his sword. Dallas became instantly wary at the heat the sword exhibited from the edges of its physical energy form. He backed off and prepared to fight all three at once. But as Grif swung wildly, he threw his other two comrades off and made this easier for Dallas. He stopped Grif's swing with both his arms, kicked the orange soldier in the ankle and disarmed him of his weapons. He threw the sword to the side upon noticing its cease of function and kneed Bitters in the visor. Matthews came swinging from the back but was blocked and faced with the back end of Dallas' fist on his visor and then a strong follow up to the chest. He fell down having felt shaken up and looked to find the General towering over him. _This is too much to deal with_.

Dallas looked at nearby sharp metal debris. He slowly picked it up while looking towards Grif and began an adequately paced walk. "It's a shame you chose to oppose me. But this is the outcome. If anything lies beyond death, then I hope you find peace in it."

As he raised his arm, Grif closed his eyes ready to brace for impact. _I guess this is it. I will have to leave it to these two, so much for me trying to be a good soldier_. Grif relaxed his body and lied back down. _I really am a lazy bastard like others say, I didn't get to say so many things to the guys that I have wanted to. I always thought that there would be a next time. I guess there won't be a next time now_.

Dallas swung down the sharp object. Grif braced for impact. The object made contact as with a grizzly, and a gory noise it pierced through the armor. Yet, Grif breathed just fine, however he heard the sound of dripping liquid. He slowly opened his eyes with questions, but quickly the questions were forgotten and overtaken by shock. The crimson red splattered on his armor as the Chorus soldier above him acted as his shield. Matthews breathed heavily all the while feeling his body struggle against the pain. Grif's mouth quivered as he reached out. "W- why?"

"To protect my hero," Matthews uttered slowly falling to the ground. "Grif…I…believe in you…"

The light from Matthews' eyes slowly died and his last breath quickly left him to embrace the darkness. Dallas walked back with a regrettable expression. _It really is a shame_. He watched the orange soldier's body shiver from the transpired events. He watched for the soldier to reach out for his dead comrade's body. Grif gently touched Matthews' arms and did his best to absolutely not break down. "Hey Matthews, come on…you are going to be okay…right, right?!"

Bitters stood up with the support of a rock, his mouth fell and eyes wide opened he himself grow numb at the sight of Matthews' limp body. He tried walking over to his best friend's dead body, but with every step he took, he felt the weakness grow. Grif held Matthews' shoulder in one hand and just looked in silence. The rage that slowly brewed within was beginning to leak out. _Is this how Simmons felt when Edwards was executed in front of his eyes?_ He reached for his sword and stood up. Silent tears ran down his cheeks. He activated the sword with rage induced eyes. "Fuck you, fuck your organization, morals, fuck everything!"

Grif pointed the sword towards the General with a heavy breath. "There is nothing in this world that will be able to save you."

* * *

 **A/N: Musical suggestion – "Bless" from Zankyou no Terror anime OST. Imagine the content from the sixth break line to the seventh as a video bit and play the suggested music. So quite a bit happened in this chapter, next chapter, look forward to more action!**

 **Constructive criticism/feedback is welcomed!**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support the fan-fiction and I hope you look forward to the next one! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	20. Slivered Hope

**Chapter 19: Slivered Hope**

Dallas rolled to his right dodging an incoming swing. He watched the heat of Grif's sword burn through the ground as it hinged into the rock formation. Grif looked at Dallas from his left side blood shot and consumed in rage. "You will die!"

He retrieved the sword and kicked Dallas away. Bitters stood up with all his might and slowly walked, then ran and finally sprinted towards his their target. He tackled the General down and began to punch him senseless. _This is for you Matthews_. He punched and punched until Dallas was finally strong enough to overpower the Chorus soldier. He head butted Bitters, kicked him off and stood up in time to jump back from Grif's wild swings. But even his efforts were not nearly enough to establish his sense of dominance that he once had. One of Grif's swings managed to scar his armor and damage the underlying equipment that helped to transport the nano-bots to his body. He held the cut stumbling backwards. _This isn't good_. He looked to his right and jumped to hide behind some debris.

Grif helped Bitters up and ordered for him to go in from the other side. The two decided to get him from both sides at the same time. As they neared, Dallas focused his hearing to create a blurred picture of the situation. He was aware of the approaching individuals as well as their direction. Bitters took out a knife as he neared the other side of the debris. Grif held the sword tightly and raised it a little in the air as if ready to strike. Dallas threw two rocks, one towards Bitters causing him to react by falling down to the ground. The other was aimed at distracting the orange soldier. Dallas ran out towards Bitters and kneed him in the visor. He held him in a tight grip lock by the neck as he slowly moved around Grif. "Drop the sword, kick it away and I will let your comrade go."

Grif watched back and forth from the sword to Bitters. The young Chorus soldier shook his head in denial that Grif would even consider this a choice. The orange soldier took his sword and raised it towards Bitters' stomach. He saw Grif slowly walk forwards further reinforcing his confidence in Grif. Bitters understood that it was only perhaps Grif with the ability to overcome and defeat their enemies. Grif aimed the sword at Bitters' chest who took in a deep breath. _I guess this will be it_. Dallas felt his heart race. _Do they not care about what happens to them all?_

Grif quickly unpinned a smoke grenade from his pouch and dropped it to the ground. By the time Dallas noticed, it was too late and Grif was shrouded in smoke. Even his shadow was no longer describable. The three men were now in a covered battlefield. Grif however had the advantage with his freedom of mobility, and Gamma to help pin point Dallas' exact location on his mini-map. As if a spirit of vengeance, Grif jumped into Dallas' vision from the white smoke with sword raised high, and managed to make a large slash on his back!

Dallas lost his grip on Bitters and fell to the ground with a loud grunt. He felt it. He felt that the swing managed to make a deep cut into him, but thankfully missed his spine. His whole body shivered with pain, he stood up raising his fists high but before he could even do anything, he was forced to fall back upon Grif's aggressive swings. Bitters came in from the back following Grif's instructions as presented by Gamma. The two managed to throw him into a tight squeeze. But Dallas was not about to be discouraged. He bent down to avoid Bitters' punch, elbowed Grif in the groin who almost squealed like a mice. Dallas spun on the ground and kicked Bitters' legs with his shin bringing down the other soldier. He jumped atop Grif and stopped him from swinging his sword. He held him with one hand on his chest armor and head butted until they were both dizzy. Dallas finally started feeling the effects of his nano-bots wear out. He knew that the damage to his back was enough to sever a major flow supply, without it he would now be forced to rely on his own natural strength.

Bitters stood up and elbowed Dallas on the helmet. In his already dizzy spell, he easily fell over into an even dizzier world. The Chorus soldier helped Grif up and watched his leader slowly walk toward the enemy. He swung multiple times until Dallas was left bleeding from all over his body. Grif raised his sword to pierce through Dallas' body but stopped. "You don't deserve to die the same way he did. You will die more painfully."

 _This is Grif?_ Bitters pondered shocked at the vengeful tone his voice carried. Dallas tried to stand back up, but the injuries were too much for his now normal body to take. He fell back down with a loud scream. The soldiers on the battlefield all looked towards Grif's fighting grounds with uncertainty and anxiety. Their General was screaming in pain right now. Grif's squad took this as an opportunity to fight back against their enemies and further discourage them through their smaller victories. Dallas tried lifting an arm, but even that would not respond. He breathed heavily and cursed silently at these turn of events. "To think that I would be defeated long before being able to see the world she had envisioned is simply a tragedy."

Grif stared at the dying General and noticed his chest rising slower with every breath. _Your time has finally come. Go pay for your crimes in hell you fucker_. He holstered the sword and instructed Bitters to make the announcement. "Attention! Your General is now dead, surrender!"

The other soldiers looked at Bitters with wary gazes. To prove this to them, Grif took off Dallas' helmet who slowly closed his eyes as the light from his mind disappeared. He held up the damaged equipment proclaiming victory. The reds and the blues screamed excitedly. The Cradle of Hope soldiers were less than pleased with the outcome. As with Tucker's group, Grif's group met some suicidal attacks as well in order to try and cut down their numbers one last time. Those that were left over were quickly disarmed and arrested.

Bitters fell to his knees by Matthews' dead corpse and rested his hand atop his. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Grif watched Bitters quietly from close by. Bitters gritted his teeth as he felt a silent tear roll down. "Fucking hell…"

Grif bent down beside Bitters and wondered the same things. He looked at his sword and to the dead General. _Did you feel like this when you destroyed Edwards' killer back then as well Simmons' or was it some other feeling?_ He took up his sword and wondered just what it was he could do now that he chose to willingly and directly kill someone. _What is there exactly left for me, will I even still be considered a soldier or am I just a monster now? No longer human…what would I be even considered now?_

* * *

Kabira kicked Sarge in the chest and kneed him in the stomach as he backed away. Washington appeared from the back and swung hard narrowly missing her. With a huge smirk, she turned around, punched him in the visor and kicked him in the knee. He fell to the ground and met Kabira's foot hard into the stomach. Sarge stood up and stretched his neck. _Well she certainly does have a few screws loose_. He watched her become alert and run towards cover upon his gun fire. Kabira eyed the grey soldier standing back up while rubbing his stomach. He activated the sword once again and slowly walked closer with Sarge following. Sarge opened fire a couple of times to help suppress her, but that was not enough to instill fear in her. She peeked out and quickly threw the rock at his visor disorientating him. She then rolled out from cover and dodged a sword swing, she swung around to face him and took his sword arm in between her armpit and arm and applied pressure to the wrist. As Wash's grip loosened, she elbowed his chest and kicked him in the side of his knee.

Sarge threw his rifle away in frustration and took out his trusted partner. He reloaded it and ran forward with a warrior's scream. Kabira turned around in time to stop him head on but noticed his shotgun's barrel aimed right at her chest. He opened fire shooting five rounds point blank. None of these shots bothered her armor in the slightest. Kabira grinned underneath her helmet while uttering. "What's wrong little man, out of ideas already that you need to resort to such brute methods?"

Wash took this opportunity and made another slash on her back. She screamed in pain as blood escaped this time covering her armor in crimson. Sarge knocked her away and pointed his shotgun at her. "What's that you were saying there missy?"

 _Tch, annoying pests_ , she glared up the barrel and balled her hands into fists. _It looks like I need to even the playing field_. She struggled through the pain and the lack of support from her armor. She stood up, turned around and punched Washington hard in his visor. It sent him tumbling down to the ground. She set one knee on his arm and loosened his fingers around the sword. As it deactivated, she threw it to the side while kicking him in the ribs for good measure. Kabira turned around and dodged a shotgun blast. She hit the bottom of Sarge's chin with her palm, took his shotgun and blasted his energy shield to zero. She readied to open fire again but was stopped upon his quick reaction much to her surprise. _So the old man can still move_.

Washington stood up and kicked the barrel of the shotgun away from Sarge and punched her in the stomach. This time his hit seemed to have an effect. _It seems that whatever your suit did for you before is no longer cutting it_. He smiled underneath the helmet and released a barrage of punches. Sarge scurried for his shotgun, Kabira noticed. In her fast reaction, she sucked up the pain and head butted Wash away. She reached the shotgun first just as Sarge was about to reclaim it, but instead he was kicked away in the head. She reached down for a piece of sharp rod and slowly inched closer. "I think we should stop this little dance routine."

As she inched closer, Washington watched with increasing worry. He crawled towards his sword and stood up with all his strength. Sarge raised his hands upon hitting his back against a large rock. Washington ran towards the two. Kabira raised her arm in the air. Suddenly the time was still! She stood feeling the pain and heat all mixed together piercing through her chest. Kabira looked down to find the grey ex-freelancer having pierced his sword through her. Her life ended in that one instant as the brain could not handle the pain. Her body weakened as her grip on the metal bar loosened and she fell forwards. It was only when he deactivated the sword, that she hit the ground with a loud thud. Washington looked at the ground with regret. _You never had to die…why does your kind always choose death?_

He turned back to Sarge and found him to be completely paralyzed with shock, and understandably so. "It's alright Sarge, you are safe now. This fight is over."

* * *

In the other states, as news of their Generals falling one by one travelled fast, the Cradle of Hope soldiers lost their morale. This opened a window of opportunity for the military, cops, reds and blues, and the ATSG. Switching tactics to go on the aggressive assault, they began to push back the enemy forces until they could finally once again see the bright and radiant light of victory.

Siris aided by two other individuals sat near a long range radio. He listened to the words of his military contact very carefully. "Good news, we have talked to other countries. They have just finished mobilizing their forces and sent them on their way to help us."

Siris hummed deep in thought. The military man was compelled to then ask. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about how long it took for them to respond."

"Hey, I will take them being late over never showing up," his conversationalist replied and Siris quickly agreed. "You are right. They should be quite a big help with the clean up as well."

He cancelled the call and called over his two aides. They helped him up and as he hobbled and limped his way to the manhole with their help, he motioned for a team. The leader of the team looked intently from the manhole to Siris. "I need you and your squad to go down there. Go, help provide support for Alex and finally put an end to this fight."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Irene studied the condition of her armor with a keen eye while hiding behind cover. Donut and Lopez opened fire from the back and Caboose cheered his comrades on. Strangely enough, he also kept on asking for her to come out as he meant well. _Mean well my ass_ , thought Irene while studying the diagnostics report. Her nano-bot supply was completely cut off. As the rock she hid behind whittled away, she looked at the equipment she carried in person. _Only four flash bang grenades, really, these are my options?_ She took one and threw it over the rock. As the canister exploded releasing a blinding light, the BGC covered their eyes and screamed like annoyed little kids. Irene jumped over the rock, but her arm nearly fell under her body's weight. _The nano-bots have worn off? Tch, I need to end this quick_. She ran up to Donut and threw an uppercut. With hard contact he went flying down to the ground. She turned to Caboose who ran with his sword swinging wildly. She dodged nearly every swing. The ones that made contact were very shallow. She planted a firm hand onto the ground and kicked his rib in.

Lopez appeared from the back and kicked her down. He punched her hard in her rib cracking it. He then took one of her arms and broke nearly every bone from the frightening and odd twist he forced onto it. Irene screamed as she pushed the Spanish robot away. She stood up with a huff and watched her broken arm dangle about. Donut gave a thumb up to his robot friend. "That's great Lopez. Let's keep on giving it to her!"

"[I know you don't mean to make it sound weird but it does. Please stop or else I might have to let her keep on punching you in the groin until you can no longer talk.]"

"Yes, let's help her some more for I'm the mighty Caboose with my universe destroyer sword!"

Donut jumped with the help of his jets and landed atop Irene and proceeded to punch her repeatedly. It was only when Irene saw an opportunity to exploit that she stopped one of his punches and turned it on itself. She rolled him off of herself and stood up too late to notice the alien sword. It made a clean and strong cut deep into her broken arm further intensifying the pain. She kicked him away and met the metal fist of Lopez into her chest. She felt something crack, perhaps a few more ribs or worse. Her breathing deepened. She knew there was trouble brewing within her body. Irene took every flash bang grenade she had and threw them down in random directions towards the BGC members. As the grenades went off, she covered her eyes to avoid their effects. Irene reacted fast to take advantage of the disorientated enemies. She kicked Donut once again in the groin, and as he squealed she moved to her next target. Caboose was disarmed by the twist of his arm, and kicked down to the ground. She stomped on the back of his helmet. "Just go to sleep!"

As she was busy with constantly stomping on his helmet, she failed to notice the danger approaching from the back. A danger that tasted like metal as she soon found out from the heavy impact. Lopez sent her flying and tumble down to the ground. She gritted her teeth as she felt something loosen in her body. _God dammit, this is not how this should have worked out_. She did her best to stand up, but was quickly pinned down by Lopez. He took his fist and jabbed it into her legs breaking the bone in her thighs. He punched her remaining arm and broke those bones as well. He turned her around and nearly broke every one of her ribs. Donut stood up holding his groin and jumping about closer to the action. "Wow, savage."

In the end, as Lopez delivered the final blow, she lied completely broken and bleeding from every cut. Lopez stood up brushing off the dust from his hands. "[That felt good, it was very therapeutic. I should go bat shit crazy more often.]"

"Oh my god we helped her so good!" Caboose exclaimed unfazed by any of Irene's hits. She eyed the blue soldier and cursed his innocence. _If only I had that monstrous strength, then our roles would be reversed_. She turned to look up at the skies and breathed out a fatigued sigh. _I only wanted to sleep, eat and repeat. I guess it's my own damn fault for getting involved in this mess in the first place and following her orders blindly. But if there is any silver lining to this, then I suppose it's that I can finally rest now_.

* * *

In the underground base, the sound of metal blades clinked and clashed against Aria's armor. Alex swung his arm only to be repelled by the unwavering strength of the protective suit. He dodged a strong punch, bent down and went in for a jab with the blade. It simply bounced off once again. _Not even a sign of scratching. Just what is your armor made out of?_ He kicked her in the shin while rolling backwards. He pressed a few buttons in haste on his gauntlet and activated the heat feature from deep within the blades. As the circuitry fired up, the blades began to glow a vibrant red.

Aria stood still at the sight and quickly raised her guard. _I don't like this_. She slowly moved around Alex, circling him like a hawk hunting its prey. She moved in for the kill. But he countered and stabbed his knife deep into her waist. She gasped at the sudden pain, and the unwelcomed foreign heat. He moved to the back and slash through to the tubes providing her with the nano-bots. But this was not enough to stop her. Before he could get another stab in, she stopped him mid-jab and smashed her fist into his stomach. He lost all strength in his knees, and he fell holding his stomach with breathless lungs. Aria kicked him over and berated. "So weak, that's what the organization you have become a dog for is. You are weak, disgustingly so!"

Alex got up on all four limbs and glared upwards. She leaned closer and held him up by his hair now. "If you had joined me, I would have granted you unlimited resources to better yourself with. We could have been a family again."

Alex gritted his teeth and swung the blade towards her shoulder. In her fast reaction, she backed off and narrowly avoided a fatal hit. Alex took in a deep breath studying the condition of his blades. "I already have a family…"

"Then I will be sure to deal with them once I know of their identities," she announced alerting Alex. His blood began to boil. Aria raised a finger as if an idea occurred to her. "Maybe I will take my sweet time dealing with them. I think I may go the torture route with them. You know, go for a limb to limb dissection method."

Hearing this angered him beyond his own limits. He let out a warm and ominous breath from his mouth. He rushed towards her while screaming. "You psycho, I won't let you!"

In a fit of rage, he swung his blades wide, but in a very controlled manner. She dodged most, but some dug themselves deep into her skin. The pain was becoming prevalent. _I can't take many more deep cuts_. Just as that thought finished, Alex dug the knife deeply into her leg. She stopped him from retreating and slammed his forearm until the blade was broken. Without hesitation she released the blade from deep within its entanglement. Aria felt her body weakening by the second. The nano-bots had completely worn off and her base body could not keep up with Alex's superior speed under the stress. He bent down and made another strong cut. Aria managed to find the strength within herself to counter one of his swings, and followed up with a hard right to his lower jaw. As Alex fell to the ground, she made way for the exit. His eyes opened wide at the limping figure, slowly escaping him. _No, I won't let you go_. He forced himself up and chased.

Aria ran from hall to hall, from tunnel to tunnel. She ran for her very life. That was until she came to a dead end, and faced a concrete wall sucking any hope of survival out of her. Behind her stood Alex at the entrance ensuring that there was no escape for her. Knowing her options were extremely limited, she took out a detonator. Alex stopped as fast as a speeding car hitting the brakes immediately. "What are you planning?"

"If I can't kill you," she activated the detonator and placed her thumb on one of the switches. "Then I will kill everyone down here starting with destroying the exits to the surface."

Alex ran for the device. She nearly pressed the button, but he managed to kick it away in time. Aria stared at the detonator with nearly dead eyes, drained of any and all motivation. He took his remaining blade and pierced her wrist and against her protests he pushed her back towards the wall. "No, stop it please!"

"You think you can really beg for mercy?" asked the ATSG assassin as he retrieved his blade back into the gauntlet. He forcibly removed her helmet and glared deep into her eyes as if piercing into her mind itself. He held her by the chin and she knew that this was the end of their dance. She leaned back against the wall and closed shut her eyes. _This is it then. I didn't think you would be this strong Alex, to think that the little brother has surpassed his older sister_. She softened her gaze and towards him and with whatever strength was left in her being, she smiled one last time for him. His eyes widened in shock. The crystal clear picture of the sister he once knew broke out from the depths of his memories. She raised an arm and gently smothered his cheek against his wishes. But soon even he came to accept it for he saw no harm in her intent. Aria's mouth quivered struggling to say a few words. "I think our family was dealt a really…really bad deal. So many things happened. I just…wanted for our family to be whole again, for us to be together again."

Alex's eyes softened with pity. He tightened his grip on her and slowly slid his hand down to her throat. "Nothing can bring us back to the way things were before sis."

He raised his arm and placed it below her jugular. "Goodbye, sister."

With a quick motion, the blade pierced the bottom of her jaw, the crimson red liquid spilt out and stabbed all the way through her brain to the top. Aria reached for his hands as the brain struggled to live, to survive. But there was nothing in this world that could ever heal such an injury. Her arms fell to her sides in an instant. Her body weakened with numbness. She started falling to the ground under her own weight guided by Alex. He set her down and stared into her eyes now turning grey. Her face seemed peaceful, and her world now erased forever. The young assassin reached out for her and gently closed shut her eyes. _Sweet dreams, Aria_.

Alex walked towards the detonator and picked it up. Church appeared beside him. "Oh look who decided to show up."

"Hey, I was busy trying to help sis," Church argued. "Don't get on my case bro."

He noticed Carolina's limping form and waved over to Aria's body and then to the detonator. "It's over. You two should get out of here now, you will need the head start."

"What about you?" asked the orange haired woman. Alex stared at the detonator stating. "I will follow you, but you need to get out of here safe and sound."

"Alright," she turned to leave meeting Siris' soldiers along the way. She quickly explained the situation and they all made an effort to escape.

* * *

The explosions and the sounds of the gun fire finally stopped. Iowa looked up above at the small hole of light piercing through with the skies now turned into a vermillion shade. _Has the fighting stopped?_ He stood up to focus his hearing. There were no noises, just complete silence. He shook his head and wondered. _Is this real, did it finally end?_

He shook his head once again and stepped towards the rocky wall. _This is no time to hesitate. I have to climb_. He reached for the rocks and began to transverse the terrain. While he came across a few slippery rocks, it was nothing he could not handle with a little help from his suit's jetpack. Slowly, ever so slowly he saw the hole get closer. His arm extended from the crater and he lifted himself up with all his strength. He fell onto his back and breathed a sigh of relief accompanied by much needed laughter. All of his fatigue just seemed to flutter away. However this was not meant to last as he looked to his right and nearly gasped. He slowly stood up and felt that once joyous state of mind degrade.

Andersmith lifted out from a couple of rubble while rubbing his back. He looked at Iowa and followed his gaze. Before he could take a step forward, he was shocked to see at what lied before him. Iowa stumbled slowly past the bodies until he finally fell at the two before him. He shook his head without words. His mind was in disarray and his heart broken in two pieces. He lowered his head towards the ground in the sudden powerlessness he felt. The force from within built up until it reached a breaking point, and he finally let it all go with a cry. "Uuuwaaaahhhh! Ahhhh!"

Andersmith lowered his head as a sign of respect. Caboose, Donut and Lopez heard Iowa all the way to where Irene lied defeated. They all rushed towards the commotion. As they neared the scene, all of them froze with Donut resting his hand over his mouth piece. "This is horrible…"

The three saw Idaho's body nearly mutilated from impalement. Several sharp rods were driven through his torso and chest, almost as if it was the work of a mad man. Caboose neared Iowa, but had no idea what to say. Tucker's group approached Caboose's group but stopped at the massacre that this battlefield was. Tucker looked at Simmons who shook his shoulders. Both of them were just as lost and wanted answers. They continued until finally coming across Caboose. Tucker approached to see the dead bodies of Iowa's family and comrades. Any and all complaints he had about their outcome all vanished in that instant. Everyone silently lowered their heads as a sign of respect. They also gave a proud salute to their dearly departed friends. Caboose especially added his gratitude for letting him make new friends. They all wondered why it was Iowa's family that had to experience this fate as they saw Ohio and Sherry, dead with hands held together to the end.

* * *

Carolina climbed out from the manhole with help from her comrades. Siris rushed over with his two aides eager to question. "What happened down there?"

It was then that he saw every soldier he sent down coming back out. "Is it over?"

Carolina limped to the side of the road and sat down. She breathed a sigh of relief at the dulled pain thanks to the healing unit. She nodded her head with happiness. "Yes…it's finally over."

Siris let out a much needed smile and laughter. Carolina however was not as optimistic as Alex had yet to come back up. "Get everyone off the roads."

"Why? What is going on?"

"Their underground base will soon collapse."

"Wait, Alex and Chloe are still down there!" stated Siris looking towards the manhole. There were no signs of anyone coming back out just yet. Carolina closed shut her eyes and noted. "They will be fine. They are far more capable than I am right now anyways."

Siris asked to be brought to the communicator connected to a direct military line. "This is Siris. I have some much needed good news. The leader of the terrorists is dead, I repeat, she is dead."

Siris in the background could hear the cheers of many like a noisy flock of birds. He too was happy not to just having heard but be able to deliver the news to others. The military forces in other cities wasted no time in conveying this news to their enemies. "Stand down, your leader is now dead. You have no more reasons or orders to carry out this fighting!"

In the growing disarray amidst the enemy, and their pride as well as their beliefs at risk, some opted to take more extreme actions. While some surrendered, to the horrors of others some decided to die in a blazing glory of fires and explosions. They attached C4s to their chest armor and ran towards the enemy, as well towards their own who surrendered. With no hesitation in their mind, they blew themselves up screaming. "May the afterlife be a more worthy land than those of the living!"

The fighting however after the smoke cleared died down quickly. While initially shocked, the Generals of the military quickly got a bearing on their surroundings and ordered for the troops to move in. "Quickly detain the terrorists, I want to avoid any more surprises like the one we just got."

* * *

In the underground base, Alex stood by the exit and gazed upon his sister's body one last time. _It is time that I bury our broken family and start anew_. Church appeared to his side with urgency. "I don't know what the holdup is dude but we need to leave, now!"

He activated the detonator as a red light blinked. He pressed one switch and sent a signal throughout the underground area. The area around the manholes shook and cracked violently. Everyone on the surface looked in confusion. Siris fell to the ground at the trembling and saw the manhole collapse. As soon as it caved in on itself, he pointed to the area. "Dig out an exit from there, there are still people stuck down there!"

Alex pressed a second switch and the light on the detonator turned green. He quickly legged it out of there as the detonator this time sent a signal to every explosive in the base. One by one, successively they exploded. He ran from hall to hall with Church's directions. Upon entering an intersection he nearly bumped into a familiar figure. "Chloe?"

"You know, it would have been nice if you had told me your plan to do this earlier."

"Wait, how did you know?"

"Church told me. You are in so much trouble!"

"Wait a go have my back dude," Alex said in bad taste. "Bros gotta have one another's back man."

"Well she can be quite scary when she is super pissed or dominant, that can be kind of kinky to…oh god I'm starting to sound like Tucker, what a scary thought."

"Boys, explosions, need to run, now!"

As the two ran, he eyed her body and smiled towards her clearly red cheeks. "I'm glad to see that you are alright."

Her red cheeks only reddened, but grew a joyous smile. "Thank you. Now let's book it on out of here!"

* * *

On the surface, several footsteps ran towards their destination bewildered by the cracks forming on the road. The grey ex-freelancer waved his arm gaining the attention of many along the way. "Carolina!"

The red headed soldier looked up with a grunt. Her pain now greatly dulled, she was able to move on her own. A smile of a joyous five year old girl formed on her face as she saw her family running towards her. She jumped at the opportunity into Washington's arms and hugged him so tight that he nearly chocked comically so. "I'm so glad to see all of you."

"We are glad to see you to," said Sarge while moving besides Simmons. Palomo and Tucker both looked at the two ex-freelancers happily while letting out a rather perverse whistle. Tucker then squeezed his pinkie finger and noted. "So Wash, is there something you want to tell us by any chance? Bow-chicka-bow-wow!"

Carolina already felt her blood pressure rising at his antics. She cracked her knuckle alerting the perverted sword wielder. He backed up until he could no longer do so. "L-l-l- Let's just calm down Carolina, we can talk this out right?"

"Oh I think perverts only understand the language of fists."

"Sounds like fun," said Palomo egging her on. Tucker glared at his Chorus friend. _Thanks for being a great friend Palomo_ , _always appreciated_. Carolina smirked underneath her helmet and said. "Don't worry, you are next."

Carolina stopped mid-swing and let out a little wince. Wash reached out for her as she lost her balance. Tucker leaned in close and asked. "Are you alright?"

"Well aside from her being a hard headed fool sometimes," Church appeared surprising the crew but happily so. "She will be just fine if she can learn to stay still for a couple of hours."

"Church, am I ever glad to see you dude," Tucker spoke swinging his arm in the air. Church let out a gentle laugh. "I didn't realize you missed me so much. I will be sure to take you on an Italian dinner date later then."

"Dude, no homo!"

"Haha! It's great to be talking to you guys again," said the AI. He was greeted by the other fragments currently present. They all took their time to catch up, learn new things from one another and in the mean time Carolina helped fill them all in on the situation. "By the way, where are the others?"

Tucker looked at Simmons worriedly and simply opted to keep quiet about the specifics for now. "They said they would catch up later when they are ready."

* * *

He ran, ran, and ran as fast as his legs would allow. In front of him, Chloe sprinted towards the previous entrance they used for the underground network of tunnels. He looked back and saw the ceiling give away. His eyes widened with taking a deep breath. They ran, they ran and ran. As they turned the corner, they saw the cave in but a small sliver of light. Chloe nearly shouted in anger, that this maybe their end. But Alex stopped her and pointed to their hope. The ATSG soldiers all motioned for them to run, run as fast as their bodies would allow, perhaps even faster. Their salvation was near. She sprinted, and he followed. She rushed out the hole and fell onto her chest with a happy smile. He stood at the hole and the blinding light that pierced his eyes. Alex looked back one last time at the collapsing tunnels and stepped out to the fresh air of the evening cool. Everywhere he looked, there were soldiers gathered, but not a weapon on them in sight. It was over, his fight was over. He looked down at his gauntlet with an appreciative stare, they served him well, but now it was the time to let go. With gratitude, he undid his straps and let gravity do the rest. The gauntlets were off, his arms breathed freely once again and the pressure of the soft inner pads was no more.

Alex took his first few steps outside with a lightened mind and heart. He watched the many reds and blues dancing around merrily in one another's arms. The mixture of red and blue made a good combo in his eyes. Several sat around raising their arms in victory, sharing stories and expressing their gratitude to one another as comrades. For without one another, they may not have made it back safe and sound to this moment. Many helped search for any trapped under the debris, and some they did find. As a group of unshakable will and bonds, they worked in unison to help their fellow comrades and people. Together they lifted up the debris, dragged their injured and let the purple medic cast his healing techniques upon them. Amidst this occasion of happiness, he stopped to notice a man that meant quite a bit to him in his life. Siris sat with a pathetic smile. No doubt he felt shameful to let his student see him in this state. But to Alex it mattered not, for he offered a relieved smile at seeing his mentor still alive and offered a hand. Surprised but thankful, Siris took it with gratitude. As the two walked towards the BGC, they observed the joy and relief together, and their minds to became cleansed of the stress from combat, their thoughts shifted from danger to happiness. Whatever is to come afterwards, they will think about it later. For now, they will just live in the moment.

Grif lifted one side of their make shift stretcher, while Bitters lifted the other. The two men looked at the body resting in peace. Sadness showed through their bodies as their muscles felt weak, but they could never afford to leave him here. Grif looked up with a nod and Bitters confirmed, it was time to move out. Andersmith, Donut, Caboose and Lopez all stood by Iowa's side as he continued to cry. His sadness was heard by all and felt. They all stared at their dead comrades with Caboose understanding the pain Iowa felt the most. They all once again lowered their head at the painful cries and to pay their respects. Sarge looked to the maroon soldier, and rested a hand on his shoulder to assess his condition. He nodded his head in the process and expressed his proud feelings towards Simmons' bravery and actions in this conflict.

Washington stood atop a hill of debris alongside Carolina and stared at his alien sword. She took off her helmet and watched with intrigue. He waved over to Tucker who attentively looked up. Wash smiled underneath his helmet and threw the sword towards the aqua soldier. Tucker looked up questioning this sudden action. He saw the grey ex-freelancer holding something small in his hands, it was his dog tags. He held them in the palm of his hands while caressing one of the surfaces where his name was engraved. This was it. It was time for him to finally put an end to it. He threw the dog tag down towards Tucker as well who instantly understood what the grey soldier was doing. As he looked up, he was surprised to find Wash take of his helmet for the first time ever in front of them all. Across Wash's pale face was a very wide smile painted. It was a smile taking in the delight of this moment, and peace. Carolina smiled alongside him, happy for him to see him smile so. She lifted her own helmet and stared for a moment. She also understood what needed to be done now for it was the natural course of events to take. She let the helmet rest to her side as her fingers slowly but eventually loosened their grip on it and it went rolling down the hill.

Church pixilated besides Tucker and the aqua soldier nodded his head. Everyone looked up at the sky with their hearts fluttering lightly and satisfaction in the choices they made to get to this moment. The horizon line was painted in a vibrant and a beautiful vermillion shade sending warm shivers down their spines. As the skies thundered, Pelicans from other nations finally arrived to help with the cleanup efforts.

* * *

 **A/N: We are very close to the ending now folks. I'm excited to finish this off in the next chapter!**

 **A couple of musical recommendations this time around.**

 **Recommendation 1: Assassin's Creed 3 Main Menu theme (play from break line 4 to 5 from when Alex fights Aria).**

 **Recommendation 2: Birden from Zankyou no Terror OST (play from break line 5 to 6 when Iowa climbs out to see the aftermath).**

 **Recommendation 3: Obstacles by Syd Matters (play from break line 9 to 10 when Alex and Chloe are escaping to see everyone gathered together in the end).**

 **As I mentioned before, next chapter will be the final. I hope this has been quite the journey for you dear reader so far. Hopefully the ending will surprise you. Constructive feedback/criticism is always welcomed!**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read and support the story! :)**

 **~ Monty**


	21. Honor the Fallen

**Chapter 20: Honor the Fallen**

On the cold plains of the snow covered prairie located on the outskirts of the still rebuilding city, Alex stood in front of his parents' graves. He closed his eyes and pressed his hands together in front of his chest with a little head bow. _Father, mother…and sister, it's been five months since my fight ended, and with it my time in the ATSG. In these five months I have wondered the purpose of my life, what is it can someone who was trained to take a life exactly do now? Honestly I'm not really sure even after thinking about it so much. But I know that the blood I have shed can never be reversed. Time only flows in one direction, and I must learn to move with it as well. So I will leave this city, I will travel the world and help as many people as I can. Hopefully, just hopefully I will be able to find a meaning for my life_. He bent down to the newly made grave for his sister and cleared the snow from the ground. He took a compact shovel and dug out the small metal box of memories he hid before. With a racing heart, he unlocked the only obstacle in his way and flipped open the lid. Inside were his precious memories of the past. He took out the family photo and smiled happily for he was thankful to each and every one of them. _Had it not been for you all, I would not be standing here with this resolve. I know things could have worked out better, but I will do my best to make the most out of what I have_.

Alex stood up after having stored the box in his bag. He looked at his sister's empty grave and then up to the sky. _Are any of you watching from up above? If you are, I hope you continue to watch over me and I hope I make you proud from now onwards_. He felt a few fingers slither in between his as a soft cushy feeling excited his hand. He looked down to find a white cotton glove as bright as the snow mixed with his black leather gloves. Chloe smiled his way and rested her head on his shoulder as the two stared at the gravestones. Alex looked at the family photo and felt his smile widen with even more joy. _I have a lot to repent for. But I won't die before I do so. I, both Chloe and I will live together in this world to make it a much better place. I will strive to eliminate corruption, and hatred like you wanted to Sister, but I will do it by showing kindness and trying to come to a mutual understanding with others. I will become the helping hand to help realize the ideals you wished for, to create a pure blue world_. The couple turned around and started walking towards their car. Alex looked at the bags neatly tied down in the back and asked. "Got everything you need?"

"Yup," Chloe chipped with an excited tone. He smirked her way and took the driver seat. "Then let's make this a trip to remember not just for us, but for everyone we come across."

* * *

The bird chirped, the ocean waves washed back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm and the sun was as bright as ever. On this tropical land of Hawaii stood a beach motel nearing one of the most popular beaches visited by tourists and locals alike all year round. Inside the motel sat an orange haired woman opening the fridge to check the temperature of the freshly made cheese as she took a gentle sip of the new grape wine. A waitress moved towards the entrance of the restaurant and closed the doors when the short hand hit eight and the long hand hit twelve on the clock. It was time for them to close the restaurant for the night.

The waitress locked the main doors and turned the sign over to "Closed". In the kitchen was a pale skinned head chef who wiped the counters clean. He looked up at the orange haired woman entering the kitchen and smiled. "I remember that it's our date night, no need to remind me."

"But we are running late," she replied holding up the movie tickets. "You know I'm super excited to see this one."

"Okay, okay," he laughed at her cute pout. "Give me five minutes for cleanup. Plus you need to still go and get ready yourself."

The orange haired woman, Carolina gave him a seductive smile. "I think my dress will knock your socks off tonight in more ways than one."

"Is there supposed to be some underlying message there?" asked the ex-soldier known as Wash now simply going by the name of David. He cleared his throat trying to control his blush. David finished the last of his cleanup as Carolina watched lovingly. Her gaze however made it harder for him to work as he became more and more self-conscious by the minute. "Um, I meant to ask. How is Siris doing?"

"Oh him," Carolina pulled out her phone and opened up her email app. She opened a photo attachment and showed it to her boyfriend. "It seems like he is very busy being a father, and a husband."

David smiled happily for him for he got the ending he wanted being reunited with his family, and most of all, his daughter. Carolina gently rested a hand on his shoulder with a most stern gaze sending cold shivers down his spine. "So you better bring your A-game tonight David. I want at least three. If you don't, guess who is sleeping on the couch for a month?"

"Y- Yes ma'am."

* * *

In their room, Carolina opened her dresser and looked at the various types of fashionable clothing she had collected in the five months gone by. She smiled at the very first piece of dress she got thanks to the help of the girls working alongside them here. _Opening this motel with David was the right choice. Not just financially, seeing as how it took off pretty quickly, but socially as well as it gave us the opportunity to meet so many different types of people and become friends_. She unfolded the dress and laughed at the memory it scavenged. She was about to buy something what she would now consider completely hideous, it was only by some luck that one of the waitresses and receptionists saw her shopping that they helped her. It was also the very first outdoors dress David ever got to see her in outside of her work clothes. _That was quite the date night. I never would have thought that David would have had it in him to be so aggressively romantic_.

She took out another dress, a two piece and hanged it in front of herself. _Nah, this one won't do_. She looked for something easier to move around in, protect her from the night breeze of Hawaii but at the same time show off more of her feminine charms, not that David minded much and she knew that. But to her as a personal point, she had made it a note to start trying to be more physically attractive. She knew that she already had the body, it was the charm she felt lacking in. As she put down another dress with a disappointed sigh, she wondered that out of all the clothes, how is it she has not found something yet. She wanted for tonight to be truly special for the both of them. Just as she was about to give up with yet another sigh and pick up a dress at random, her eyes zoomed towards a red one piece dress that went down to knee length, exposed her shoulders and the nape of her neck. _Perfect, this will make him speechless for sure_.

David being the ready one always, he had made sure to store his clothes for the date in the worker's area at the beginning of the day. He changed into his formal shirt and pants, checked his wallet and made sure to take all that he needed. He checked the watch and smiled nostalgically. _I remember her running late like this for our very first date as well_. He looked around the establishment to see many customers going in and out, and the workers, most of who are composed of former ATSG soldiers. He walked towards the deck area of the lodgings and leaned against the railings. One of the workers exited the building for his break and waved towards David. "Looking good boss, going out?"

"I told you guys to stop calling me boss," David smirked back as he adjusted his coat. "Yup, both Carolina and I will be out for the night. So it's your guys' job to hold down the fort till we are gone."

The employee gave a thumb up as he lit up a cigarette. "Boss, can I ask why you decided to open up the beach lodge here?"

"Well aside from you already asking the question," David replied with a sheepish smile and he continued. "I always wanted to retire somewhere tropical, to drink a cocktail out of long glass while sitting back and relaxing on the beach. But retirement doesn't really suit me, so I decided to open this up in Hawaii, so I can get the best of both worlds."

"It's amazing how you have so much clarity on yourself already."

"Well, if you spend a long amount of time thinking on this, anyone can come to have some to," David flexed his fingers while staring at his palm. "Either that, or you just stumble upon it out of sheer dumb luck, haha!"

"Which one was it for you?"

"I guess it was a combination of things. But mostly it was Carolina kicking my ass to get myself in working shape again," David answered with an embarrassed but a thankful smile. "Had it not been for her, who knows whether this lodge would still be around or not."

"Considering the things you have been through already, I am sure it would be," answered the employee. Everyone here knew of one another's past as soldiers, they also understood that some struggled more than others. David smiled patting the man on the back and said. "Well as long as we all stick together, I'm sure I can overcome anything."

"Are you ready David?" asked Carolina walking down in her red one piece dress, high heeled shoes, a vibrantly red lipstick coated her lips and light makeup masked her face. Both the men's jaws went dropping at the sight. If anything, she managed to find some amusement from this. She reached out for the employee's mouth and sealed it shut while let David's hang open. His impressed and clearly somewhat provocative stare started to turn her on. She quickly closed his mouth before she went in for the kiss and held him by his hand while nervously brushing her hair. "S- So, let's get going eh?"

* * *

"Hey, check this out," one of the employees motioned to their friend and pointed towards the staff TV. On the screen were three individuals all dressed formally with top and bottom news overlays. The news being discussed regarded the reds and the blues and the events that occurred five months prior. Carolina stopped in her tracks to see their ongoing debate. One of the employees noticed and stood up nervously. "Sorry, I realize you are going out on your date. I didn't think this would interfere with your plans."

David looked at the intense gaze in Carolina's eyes and smiled. "Its fine, even if we are late for the movie, there will always be a next time for it. Right now, this is more important."

 _It has been a while since I saw that look in your eyes_. David led her to the sofa and sat down hand in hand beside her. _Such determined eyes only help increase the radiance of your charm_. He turned his attention to the TV where he saw the female newscaster discuss the recent developments regarding the rebuilding. "In recent news, the funding dedicated to the rebuilding of destroyed cities has just doubled today. The science budget regarding the study of the nuclear radiation in the affected areas however has seen a slight hit due to lesser tax returns. We will now go live on the streets to see what the people have to say about the reds and the blues involved in this major incident."

A camera man and a reporter approached a man dressed in formal clothing. It was early morning just about when people were ready to head to work. "Sir, could we please have a moment of your time for the news?"

He looked agreeable to the idea. The reporter held the microphone towards him while asking. "What do you think of the involvement of those red and blue soldiers from the UNSC army in the war five months ago?"

The man looked a little angered at the question as he pointed to his car. "Do you see that?"

The camera focused on a broken car, completely smashed from the top to bottom. "I rely on this to get to work every day, to live my life like a normal person. In their war I got caught up, my family got caught up. My car is destroyed because of their fighting that they failed to control. If they were trying to protect us, then they should have pushed them back and driven the fighting to the outer city limits!"

On another scene, another interviewer approached a weary looking woman. She initially felt shocked to be on camera but quickly settled. "What do I think about the involvement of the reds and blues from the UNSC?"

The interviewer nodded while resting the microphone close to her subject's mouth. "I think that they need to pay. We are just normal people who got pulled into the conflict. I mean my son died for crying out loud! He died in my arms suffering from grenade shrapnel. How can I as a mother ever think then that they did good, that they helped us when my own flesh and blood was taken from me?!"

A reporter approached a man in loose clothing and a beanie hat who looked at his destroyed apartment building. "Excuse me sir, I was hoping for some of your time to interview you about the involvement of the reds and blues five months ago. Would you be alright with that?"

He simply nodded in response. The reporter rested the microphone close to him with an ecstatic giggle. "Fantastic, is this your home by any chance?"

He nodded and said. "It was my home. For the past five months I have been living in a government shelter, like the rest whose homes were destroyed."

"Do you hold any grudges against the reds and the blues for this?"

"No," the man calmly noted. "They were just trying to do the best they could having come into the picture after the war began. I can't exactly ask them to be perfect. They did save us from only god knows what world that crazy terrorist organization would have created after all."

"Some people are blaming the reds and the blues for what happened, what are your thoughts on that?"

"Screw that," the man answered with a determined tone. "I am still here, I am still alive. That is all that's important. Even if we lost our homes, our possessions then we can simply regain them. I won't lie by saying we can get it all back, but to blame them is like pushing the blame onto someone because we don't want to help ourselves. Instead, it would be just easier to blame someone else and get it over with. Let's all just be thankful to still be able to breathe the air, taste food and sleep knowing we have weathered out one of the worst storms of our generation."

The screen changed to a father and a son. These were the same father and son that the reds and blues gave their lives to protect in the fighting. The father looked to his son and turned to the camera with a smile. "I don't know if you will get this message. I hope you guys are able to hear it. The reds and blues, two individuals from your group helped to save both me and my son. Were it not for them, I would not be here like this. We would no doubt be lost bodies in the debris. But because of them I'm still alive, we are both still alive. Thank you for fighting for us, to protect us and most of all giving us another opportunity at living our lives. I hope good fortune finds you all."

"And there we go," said the female newscaster. She turned to her two male colleagues and noted. "Those are some interviews we had gathered by going to the streets of affected cities and people. What do you two make of this?"

"To be fair, some of them have a good point," said one man. "It was the reds and blues that escalated the fighting and caused more damage to the cities. If anything, it should be them paying for reconstruction, not the people of America."

"But look at it from another perspective," said the other man. "You saw some of the testimonials that helped to paint the reds and the blues in a positive light. It is clear that many people idolize them now, not just as celebrities but as true heroes. We need more powerful examples like that to help put people into a positive direction for society."

"But this is not positive," argued the first man. "Look at the destruction their actions caused, the number of lives lost."

"Look at the number of lives saved to," said the second man. "We can't look at things from just one side of the issue. If we do so then it becomes so much easier to condemn them for their action rather than trying to fully understand it."

"Of course," said the female newscaster who motioned to a video screen beside her. "I apologize for interrupting you two but we have to move on to the next segment as we go live from the large scale event setup for the reds and the blues by the UNSC. We got special permission to film and stream this live as it happens. Please watch carefully."

* * *

On a foreign planet, at a large field filled with several raised rectangular stones, a remote controlled drone activated and the static on the screen cleared. The information recorded was transmitted live with ease. On the land were several red and blue soldiers, all mixed in together. In front of the crowd was a large stage. The drone lowered towards the stage and followed a group of familiar soldiers, the BGC, up the stairs and onto the podium. The camera zoomed out and backed away to give room to the presenters. One by one those of the BGC made an effort to stand up with all their emotional strength, and make a dedicated speech to the fallen. It was clear to everyone that in this short amount of time, both sides had managed to bond beyond what they had imagined. The loss was felt by all. Sarge was the last to dedicate his speech. A group of soldiers with assault rifles all stomped their foot on the ground in unison with a salute. The BGC stood up in a straight horizontal line and gave a salute in return. The weapon wielders raised the rifle in the air at an angle and waited for the prompt. Everyone and Muffins raised their arms into a proud salute as the assault rifles fired.

One by one, the BGC stepped down the stairs to the ground where the crowd had already dispersed to mourn the fallen. The drone followed and looked to their right. There were three people, all sitting around a grave, crying together and comforting one another. The drone looked to the left. There was a red soldier and a blue soldier holding hands together while bowing their head in respect. To the left again, was Grif and Bitters, both speechless only to be consoled by Simmons. To the right as the drone neared the exit of the graves was Iowa, the lone survivor now all alone and his family destroyed. Caboose stood by his side resting his palm atop his shoulder, to let him know that it was alright. They are gone, but he is not completely alone, they will be remembered forever through the many dedications created to the reds and the blues on Earth and all across the UNSC.

The drone stopped at a good shot of the BGC standing by the Pelican bay doors. Sarge motioned for Simmons to follow. Tucker looked quietly alongside Church at the terrible tragedy for hundreds of thousands lie here. Simmons helped to guide Grif back alongside Bitters. While Tucker called Caboose over who took Iowa gently by the arm and led him to a new place he could make a home within. The drone watched the BGC board the Pelican and slowly started lifting up in the air. As it rose higher and higher, the immense number of graves became clear. This was the cost of war. As the drone stopped at the very top having brought every grave into frame, one could easily tell that the casualties extended over two-hundred thousand.

This was war, their worst war yet. Fight, survive, prosper, remember and appreciate. This is what the warriors of the reds and blues now all lived by. Their unity is strong, their bonds are powerful and no one can ever destroy it now. They fought one of their bloodiest wars, and many died bravely, while those that survived strived to do better from now on. They are unyielding soldiers. This was their story, the story of how the reds and the blues saved the Earth as well as the galaxy.

* * *

"The Destiny of Man is to unite, not to divide. If you keep on dividing you end up as a collection of monkeys throwing nuts at each other out of separate trees."

\- T.H. White, The Once and Future King

~ Fin ~ Cradle of Hope Trilogy

* * *

 **A/N: This is it folks, this is the ending. What did you think of the 'Cradle of Hope' trilogy (Season 17, 18 & 19) in comparison to the 'New Order' trilogy (Season 14, 15 & 16)? **

**I would love to hear your feedback on it and which one is your better preferred. Before I get to my closing remarks, I have one last musical suggestion.**

 **Musical Suggestion: Spanish Sahara by Foals (play from break line 4 to 5 when the drone shows the live stream of the grave).**

 **Now, a big thank you to everyone who read and supported not just this story but the trilogy as a whole, and super big thank you to bob parley and MKDemigodZ-Warrior for sticking with my journey in writing the Red vs. Blue fan-fics from Season 14 to Season 19.**

 **This was quite a different from the norm RvB style of story in my opinion to work on due to the nature of how apart Carolina was from everyone else. But the massive scale it also took in uniting several reds and blues together was definitely interesting to write. I hope the story was a great read when it comes to considering this now as a complete trilogy.**

 **By the way, if you are reading this before reading the chapter, I suggest you stop here. Read the chapter and then continue reading the author's note. I'm going to list out what happens to the characters after the conflict in clear cut terms in case any of it was left confusing for anyone here.**

 **Washington/David: He wanted to retire initially somewhere tropical, but instead he opened a beach motel with Carolina able to enjoy the tropical area while maintaining his financial security. He is also in a relationship with Carolina.**

 **Carolina: While deepening her like for cheese and wine, she opened the beach motel with David to live a normal life, and is now in a relationship with him looking to the next stages of her life where she hopes to start a family.**

 **Sarge, Simmons, Grif, Tucker, Caboose and Iowa: Goes back to Blood Gulch.**

 **Church: He goes back to Blood Gulch with Tucker now sharing the storage unit with Sigma.**

 **Palomo: He went back to Chorus to be with Jenson.**

 **Bitters: He went back to Chorus still affected by Matthews' death.**

 **Andersmith: He returned to Chorus.**

 **Siris: He goes on to repair his relationship with his daughter, wife and family.**

 **Alex and Chloe: They go on to travel the world to help others in need and are in a relationship.**

 **That should be it. Again thank you for reading and supporting my stories. For now, I'm leaving fan-fiction behind in pursuit of my original storied on fictionpress (under the same pen/user name). But that will be for after a short break. I hope you are able to come and support me there as well :).**

 **A note for any feedback that this story now gets, thank you for taking the time to do so but it will NOT be implemented due to the completed status. I hope this does not hinder your enjoyment.**

 **Catch you all later!**

 **~ Monty Mason**

8


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